Hybrid Theory Redux
by The Sh33p
Summary: It`s time for the 25th Tenkaichi Budoukai, and this time, all bets are off... Complete! R&R please!
1. It`s Goin` Down

**Author`s Note:** Took me a while but damnit, Hybrid Theory continues! Hope you like this one folks, it`ll be updated once a week since if I post it all at once, it`ll be buried by the endless flow of V/B and T/P romances... Blegh on all of them :\  
  
**Disclaimer:** I don`t own DBZ, nor do I own Hybrid Theory(the CD), so... Yeah, you go from there.  
  


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Hybrid Theory Redux   


**_It`s goin` down   
  
  
  
_ "This should be one to remember, huh?" Trunks asked, looking over at Gohan. Gohan gave a mute smile and then turned his gaze out of the nearest window, staring out over the oceans. It was time for another Budoukai, the Tenkaichi Budoukai to be specific. Hercule`s ego had compelled him to make sure of it, that and the recent lack of anything truly interesting since the Gyoosan Budoukai barely three months earlier had caused most of the world, somehow a large portion of which was addicted to televised fighting in some form, to swing into a lull of boredom. People needed to be excited, the current way things were didn`t help them much. "Why so quiet?" Trunks asked, hushing his voice a bit so as to not bring the attentions of his mother. ChiChi had agreed to stay home, she needed rest and watching her son - soon to be her oldest son - go out and compete in the same gruelling tournament that her husband had almost died in three times in a row wasn`t going to be very helpful. ChiChi was six months pregnant now, though even with the added mass of pregnancy she wasn`t showing it very much.   
  
Gohan smiled a bit out of no where, looking back to Trunks and giving a shrug. "Thinking," he answered finally, replying in that same hushed tone Trunks himself had used. "About?" Trunks asked skeptically. Vegeta looked back at the two with something halfway between a frown of contempt and a smirk of respect - as respectful as a person like Vegeta could be, anyway. He found it something of a bitter irony that while he and Goku - Kakarot - had been near mortal enemies, _actual_ mortal enemies in Vegeta`s mind, their children got along fine with one another. A bitter, funny irony, one that was only added to by the fact that both of them had surpassed he and Kakarot in power. That part annoyed him slightly, he could deal with Trunks being a bit stronger than he himself was, he had been fine with that the moment he learned Trunks was his son from the future, but Gohan was a bit more annoying for him.   
  
Not only was the boy quite literally the mirror image of his father, he was also turning out to be a smarter version of him, right down to wearing a similar gi and similar haircut. Vegeta was bitterly reminded of Kakarot there, he was also reminded that the boy was something to be proud of. A saiyan. Even if he did need some pride beaten into him.   
  
The baby version of Trunks slept soundlessly, leaned against Vegeta`s leg and drooling somewhat. Anyone else, Bulma knew, herself included, the Prince would probably disembowel barehanded and enjoy it. He had indeed learned a bit of respect for his son, both forms of him. Baby Trunks was the only child that could ever get away with pulling his hair, that much was for sure.   
  
"Something interesting, Vegeta?" Bulma asked, turning her gaze from straight ahead to her non-husband, who gave a huff and looked back off out of the window next to him. Bulma didn`t bother asking again, she just gave a slight smile and then went back to driving the airbus onward. "This should be a good tournament," Bulma thought aloud. "Why aren`t you entering, dad?" Mirai Trunks asked, earning a snarl in reply. "... Okay, that answers that," Bulma cut off any replies from anyone else.   
  
_ Watch them flee  
Hip-Hop hits  
And you do it like this  
It's goin' down   
  
_ Gohan thought in silence, Trunks was soon joining him and Bulma hummed to herself while Vegeta reached down, out of view of anyone else of course, and brushed his hand over the baby Trunks` head as he slept, an unintentional thing actually, but one that happened anyway. _"Wonder if Piccolo will show up,"_ Gohan thought in an attempt to ward off boredom, remembering the showing Piccolo had made at the Gyoosan Budoukai three or so months earlier with a bit of amusement at how the big green alien had made an idiot out of Gohan`s one-time temporary mentor, Krillin. He could already tell Krillin would be there, he could sense his power a few miles ahead of the airbus.   
  
Trunks slowly began to nod off like his younger self had already done, and Vegeta eventually caught the urge to sleep as well, though he fought it off with a round of quiet complaints, often ending when Bulma smacked his shoulder. Gohan found it amusing, in a good-natured sort of way. The two of them never seemed to get along outwardly, but inwardly, Bulma and Vegeta were almost always in agreement. Gohan mused that was why they`d been so attracted to one another.   
  
Baby Trunks gave a swift kick to nothing in particular and gradually stirred awake, gumming on his father`s thumb. Vegeta noticed, but he didn`t seem too annoyed by it. For a moment, Gohan could almost swear to have seen a smile creep onto the Prince`s face, however short-lived that it was.   
  
_ The rhythm projects 'round the next sound  
Reflects the complex hybrid dialect now  
Detect the mesh of many elements compressed down  
The melting pot of a super-futureesque style  
  
_ Zangya gave a smirk as 18 lowered the aircar down. Piccolo sat in silence, complaining in thought to himself at having spent the past week, under the coaxing of Dende, watching after the two to make sure they didn`t get themselves, or others, into trouble. Piccolo was beginning to take a vast disliking to the fine arts of shopping, brushing one`s hair and most profanely of them all: Fashion. "Are we there yet?" The Namek grumbled, recieving a well earned glare from 18 and a roll of the eyes from Zangya.   
  
"Yes, Big-green-and-bitchy, we`re there," Zangya stated simply, climbing out of the aircar and hopping to the ground. Piccolo quietly removed himself from the car by climbing up out of the skylight, he couldn`t get in or out any other way. After that, he reached into the car and took out his cloak and mantle, placing them on while walking towards the area he guessed he would most likely meet Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta, Bulma and the baby version of Trunks when they all finished arriving.   
  
Zangya looked on at him with a mix of disgust and amusement, looking back as 18 got herself from the car, capsulizing it and then tucking it into her pants pocket without a second thought. "Ready?" She asked, looking over to Zangya. "Yes, where are we headed?" She asked in reply, stepping alongside 18 as the pair began to walk towards a map-post. "Registration," 18 answered. _"So I was right,"_ Zangya mused, catching that slight glint in 18`s eyes as they began the walk towards the registration booth, intent on getting the show on the road. _"She`s not here for a championship at all,"_ Zangya thought, withholding a chuckle at the way the other woman walked.   
  
  
Videl grimaced, waiting quietly for her father to finish wading through the masses of reporters and fans while she herself, unassuming as she was, darted away and got a drink. Satan Dew, they called it. How the heck did he pull that one off anyway? Videl knew her father was stuck up and egotistical - as if naming a city after himself didn`t prove that enough - but naming a soft drink after himself? Come on...   
  
"Hurry up already," she grumbled, watching him pose for pictures with a few random passers-by while the gullible reporters ate every last bit of it up. Her thoughts were pretty jumbled, but among them only a single thought really stood out. _"Wonder if I`ll get the chance to face Gohan,"_ she thought, remembering how this year`s tournament was going to be divided up and fought out with a Junior Division, and an Adult Division. She found the whole idea rather absurd, why waste time with a kid`s tournament? If she remembered right, it had been two children, barely even a year or two older than her, who had both come close to winning the tournament in their own right during the 21st Budoukai. She amusedly considered the possibility that it was the reason they were so reluctant to let children fight in the adult`s tournament.   
  
It just wasn`t proper to have a child bashing the snot out of a world champion, after all.   
  
She snickered a bit, remembering the sight of Gohan, who was only barely over five feet tall, knocking over an entire pile of some twenty fighters with only a few seconds worth of effort, not even trying from the looks of things. It was indeed going to be an interesting fight if she went up against him. Heck, it`d be an interesting fight if he was even involved.   
  
Videl gave a few more seconds thought to something that had been getting to her as of late. Back at the Gyoosan Budoukai, the power he`d displayed later on, out of sight of herself, had been phenominal.Watching all of those explosions, watching the sky itself seem to shatter several times, seeing golden comets here and there.   
  
And that`s what brought the visual comparison of Gohan to the boy who`d been seen fighting Cell. The hair was the only thing that didn`t fit right if she thought of him as blonde with greenish eyes. It was too short, even if it was blonde. "I`ll figure you out someday," Videl promised to herself aloud, unhearing as the large greenish skinned figure walked up behind her.   
  
"Are you Gohan`s friend?" A gruff voice asked from behind, startling Videl and causing her to almost spill her drink. She was eye level with someone`s stomach at first, but soon craned her head back and looked up to observe the exceptionally strange looking man in a turban, a cloak, a black - or was it purple? - gi, strange shoes and a red belt...   
  
With green skin.   
  
"Yeah," Videl mumbled out in response, noting the hardened expression on the green man`s face as he looked from her to her father several times. "Looking at something?" Videl asked hotly, annoyed at his silence, but recognizing him almost instantly as one of the fighters from the Cell Games. "How is an idiot like that your father?" The fellow asked finally, not a bit of humor in his voice as he did so. "I have no idea," Videl mumbled out, looking over her shoulder to her father, who was still doing poses and, for the most part, unnoticing of Videl.   
  
"You wanted something?" Videl asked, looking back up at the green man only to see him walking away towards the northern part of the island. "If you want to see Gohan when arrives, follow me," the gruff voice rang out. Videl raised up an eyebrow and tossed another piece into the evidence box, jogging to keep up with the green skinned giant of man - or was he even human?   
  
_ The combination of a vocal caress  
With lungs that gasp for breath  
From emotional stress  
With special effects  
  
_ The fighter`s lounge. Krillin was cynical in his view on it. It seemed as though they were almost scared of having the old qualifying rounds, he knew for a fact that Hercule would`ve never made it into any of the tournaments past if they not just on strength, seeing as he knew of at least a few prior champions who had won on nothing but technique.   
  
He was cynical, but he wasn`t stupid. As much as he`d hoped, at least a few of the fighters at the tournament would most assuredly not be push-overs. He could tell, easily, that Piccolo had arrived when gossip of a tall, green skinned man had ended up circulating around the room, and he could almost tell that was indicator of Gohan being part of the tournament as well, which meant Mirai Trunks would probably be a part of it. Then there was the guy standing across from him in silence, arms crossed over his chest.   
  
He was tall, probably as tall as Piccolo, with pink skin and short, black hair. Bat ears and horns, he looked demonic, and the goatee didn`t much help the matter. The fellow wore light blue clothes, aside from a gigantic cape-like garb with a collar that ran up to midway the height of his head, and he had on white boots as well, yellow, cat-like eyes and a black 'M' tattooed on his forehead. Krillin could tel several things about him, for one the figure wasn`t human, for another he wasn`t native to the earth, for another, he wasn`t weak and for another still he was able to outpower Krillin even though the monk _knew_ he was hiding a great deal more.   
  
He figured this one would be a severe problem. Fighters were also speaking about him, but the midget was the only one who paid no attention at all to them, focused solely on the large figure in the weird clothes.   
  
_ "Why do I get the feeling that guy`s gonna be the worst problem we`ve dealt with since... Since... Ah hell, every problem`s the worst since the last,"_ Krillin thought sarcastically, a frown appearing on his face. The pink fellow barely noticed him, eyes sliding shut. He seemed to be going into a meditative state now. Good, Krillin`s instincts told him. _"Maybe he`ll fall asleep now,"_ he mused.   
  
_ And a distorted collage  
Carefully lodged between beats of rhythmic barrage   
  
"I hope,"_ he thought, catching the slight way his power, however concealed it was, began to raise up.   
  
_ It's goin' down  
The logical progression on the timeline  
The separation narrowed down to a fine line  
To blur the edges so they blend together properly  
  
  
"That`s my boy,"_ Goku thought, watching everything with a smile. The Grand Kaio sat behind him on his couch, and King Kaio was standing off to the side a bit, trying to keep his composure around his superior. "Look at him, he looks just like me," Goku announced proudly. The Grand Kaio gave a throaty chuckle and rubbed his bearded chin. "That he does, looks like they cloned you to make `im," the elder god announced amusedly. He could see the resemblence plain as day. "You haven`t seen him go Beyond, have you?" Goku asked, looking over his shoulder at the Grand Kaio. "Nope," the old god replied with a shrug, scooting forward a bit on the couch.   
  
"I can tell he`s strong though, gonna be one heck of a fighter if he makes it to my planet," he announced ahead of time. "I hope he doesn`t get here for a long time then," Goku mumbled in concern. The Grand Kaio gave a nod and then let quiet take effect.   
  
_ Take you on an audible odyssey  
Now it's goin' down   
  
_ Gohan waved a hello to Videl as he disembarked from the airbus, a half-sleepy Trunks, then a grumpy Vegeta and finally Bulma carrying baby Trunks emerging one after another a few seconds later in a show that made even Piccolo smirk a little. "You made it!" Gohan cheerily exclaimed when he looked over Videl`s shoulder and spotted Piccolo, running up and greeting his sensei with a bearhug that almost caved in the Namek`s lower ribcage. "You can stop now, kid," Piccolo wheezed out, stumbling back a bit as Gohan laughed sheepishly. "Hope I didn`t break anything..."   
  
"No, just don`t do that again or just might," Piccolo replied. Videl waited briefly and then spoke up, a bit annoyed that he hadn`t paid her as much attention as he had the green skinned fellow. "Hi Gohan," she said while clearing her throat. Gohan immediately turned and stopped himself short of hugging Videl, at least in front of Bulma, Vegeta, and everyone else. He knew them all too well...   
  
"Hi Videl, what`re you doin` here?" Gohan asked.   
  
"Entering the tournament, you?" Videl replied, a weary smirk on her face as Gohan replied. "Same here, hopefully I`ll get to fight your dad," Gohan stated enthusiastically. "You`re only eleven, remember? You won`t be allowed into the adult division," she replied sardonically, causing him to face fault. "Adult division?" He asked annoyedly, falling into step alongside Videl as Piccolo walked along just behind them and between they and the Briefs, or more importantly, they and Bulma. He knew the endless teaisng she`d subject him to.   
  
A few minutes passed, culminating in Bulma and Vegeta, as well as the baby Trunks, breaking off from Mirai Trunks, Gohan, Videl and Piccolo, who walked to the center of the island and started registering. "Satan, Videl," Videl stated to the sign-up desk, watching her name get drawn into the count for the junior division. Trunks went next, then Gohan.   
  
"Son, Gohan Jr," Gohan said. The man at the desk blinked once or twice and then spoke. "Was your father, by any chance, Son Goku?" He asked. Gohan looked perplexed for a moment and answered. "Yes, he was. Why?" He asked. The deskman paled briefly and then shook his head. "Would you mind terribly fighting in the adult division? Or both?" He asked. "I`ll stick with the adult division," Gohan sheepishly laughed out, managing to shut out the shocked glare Videl was giving him in envy.   
  
Gohan stepped aside, immediately being shaken half-senseless by a nearly irate Videl while Piccolo registered. "How did you get in on your name only?!" She demanded, shaking him again and again before Trunks stepped in and calmly tapped her on the shoulder. "Could you please not break his neck," Trunks asked. Videl stopped. "Well?!" She asked Gohan, who wobbled on his feet for a moment and then finally replied. "My dad was in three of these thi-" Videl shook him again. "I know that! He`s a legend in these tournaments," she stated annoyedly. "Then why the question?" Gohan asked, watching Videl blush in a mix of annoyance and actual anger.   
  
"How did you get into the adults on that alone?! My dad won the last Budoukai and I don`t get that kind of treatment at all!" She growled. "Maybe it`s because they figured I`m probably as strong as he was and it`d be unfair to stick me with the juniors," Gohan thought aloud, shrugging. "If you want, I`ll enter the juniors too," he offered. Videl twitched and shook her head. "No, that`s alright. At least cheer for me though," she suggested.   
  
_ Put it out for the world to see  
LP and X-men to the 10th degree  
Nobody in the world is safe  
When we melt down the wax in your record crate  
It's goin' down  
  
_ Gohan smiled. "Of course I will," he replied, unseeing of Android 18 and Zangya, who arrived and signed their names, much to Piccolo`s chargrin.   
  
The next few minutes went by in relative quiet as the group entered the fighter`s lounge after qualifying, and Gohan wished Videl luck as she waved a fond good-bye and darted outside to join the other 31 fighters in the tournament, intent on getting started as quickly as possible. Gohan stood there for a few minutes, then noticed a hand laid out on his shoulder.   
  
He turned his head and raised both eyebrows at the person that hand was attached to. He hadn`t even noticed her during the sign-up. "Zangya?" He asked in surprise. The relatively short woman smiled to him and then nodded towards Videl, who was beginning her match even as Gohan turned towards the ring. "Like her, don`t you?" Zangya asked, removing her hand and stepping forward. Gohan gave a nod to the dark blue-green skinned woman with the orange hair, dressed in a fighting gi resembling a female version of what Krillin wore, who had just three months earlier, tried to kill him.   
  
"Haven`t said anything because of my mom and Bulma," he said. Zangya chuckled to herself. "Well, you`re only eleven, no offense, so why don`t you just wait a while, eh?" She asked, stepping up beside him. Gohan frowned a bit. "I`m not a little kid anymore, I slapped down your old boss twice and defeated Cell two times in the same fight," he announced annoyedly. "Wasn`t saying you were," Zangya replied, hiding a wince and thanking any deities above that he didn`t mention Puujin, Bido, or even Gokuha. They may not have been the best friends, but unlike with Bojack, she did miss them.   
  
_ Put it up  
And it goes like this  
And you do it like this  
It's goin' down  
Once again it is  
  
_ "Oh," Gohan replied, watching Videl`s opponent fly out of the ring a few feet and land with a hard thud. "Wow, for a human girl her age, she isn`t that bad," Zangya noted with a smirk. "Not bad at all," Gohan replied, watching Videl hop down from the arena and walk to the bench where the junior fighters waited.   
  
"Say, do you know the line-up of the tournament?" Gohan asked, looking over to Zangya. "Yeah, actually. It should be," she looked around, taking everyone and matching them up to the names she had memorized. "I`m going up against Piccolo," she smirked. "You`re in the second match, you`ll be against a guy named Spopovitch, then Krillin`s facing a guy named Jewel, Juu-chan..." Gohan interrupted her. "Juu-chan?"   
  
"My nickname for Android 18, as you call her," she answered. Gohan gave a nod. "Juu-chan will take on a guy named Puntar, then a guy named Dabura is going to fight Hercule," she finished. "That`s all I can remember," she added a few seconds later. "And I think the Dabura-Hercule fight is going to be last, since Satan`s the champ," she stated.   
  
Gohan frowned. "He`s only the champ because my dad wasn`t here last time around," he mumbled watching the second, then the third matches of the junior division end in rapid succession. "Funny," Zangya mumbled. "You`re bitter about that, but not bitter that he stole what should`ve been your glory over Cell," she stated, having clearly read up on her recent history lately. "I`m not bitter over either, just a bit annoyed that he thinks he`s so great. Reminds me of a weak Vegeta," he mused. "Vegeta has better hair than that," Zangya reminded him. "Good point," he conceded. "Still, he does seem just a bit too... Braggy. I only thought I`d let him keep the glory since it couldn`t hurt anyone, but then I met Videl," he motioned toward her. "No good deed goes unpunished," Zangya mused.   
  
"Don`t talk like that," Gohan snapped in his usual tone. "Yes, that`s a bit too depressing, isn`t it?" Gohan gave a sharp nod and turned back as the sixth match ended. These things didn`t last long, did they?   
  
"It`s about as stimulating as watching paint dry," Krillin mumbled, stepping up beside Gohan and leaning against the door frame. "At least there aren`t any fumes to get wasted on," Krillin mused, recieving a hard slap on the back of the head from Zangya. _"Silly midget,"_ she thought with a barely concealed snicker. "What was that for?" Krillin demanded. Zangya smiled enigmatically and shook her head, walking back into the lounge under the intense watch of Piccolo.  
  
_ Swinging right from the chin  
The elevate of mental states  
Long gone with the wind  
To defend men for shoddy imitation pretends  
  
_ Another few matches. Piccolo turned from Zangya and observed Dabura, quiet and intense as ever, beginning to glow a faint shade of red as Piccolo watched him, keen eyesight that was above average even for Namek standards spotting the glow that was too faint for human eyes to pick up. _"I don`t like this,"_ he thought. _"I don`t like this at all,"_ he added quickly, noting the faint, short lived bursts of energy from Dabura. The Demon King kept his power hidden - from those like Gohan, Krillin, even Zangya, but Piccolo saw right through it.   
  
Trunks was uneased by the presence of Dabura as well, watching the pink skinned fellow like a hawk, though he wasn`t quite as subtle and knowing about it as Piccolo was. Dabura smirked, opening his eyes and glancing over to Trunks, then Piccolo, both of them recieving similar glares of contempt.   
  
_ "Better look elsewhere,"_ Trunks thought, hearing the bell ring for round two of the junior division.   
  
Hercule stepped into the lounge, loud and annoying as ever, recieving not even a glare from any of those who`d fought him previously, or anything else for that matter, though if he noticed Piccolo or Trunks, or even Krillin, he didn`t say anything. Probably thought he was just imagining things as he walked up and roughly sought to push Gohan aside to view the first match of round two, Videl against some red haired kid twice her size.   
  
Gohan didn`t budge, he didn`t even notice Hercule`s presence. Krillin did, but he just watched the two from the corner of his eye as Hercule shot a glare down at Gohan. "Get outta my way, shorty," Hercule demanded. Gohan calmly looked over his shoulder, right up at Hercule, who cringed deeply at the sight of him. Gohan smiled and then took a moment or two of thinking, stepping aside very slowly and speaking. "Your daughter`s doing good out there," he said simply. Hercule shuddered. "Ain`t you a little young to be in the adult division?" He asked. "They thought it`d be unfair if I went into the juniors," Gohan shrugged.   
  
"Oh," Hercule winced, slowly backing up but then seeing every looking at him and assuming the most confident could manage, all the while creeping back. Gohan waved a good-bye to him and then watched with growing curiosity as Hercule fled down a hallway.   
  
_ It's going down  
Stalence emulation readily  
Trekking through the weaponry  
Of the pure pedigree  
  
"What a wimp,"_ Gohan thought with surprise on his face. Krillin, unable to hold his silence any longer, burst out into laughter and fell over, holding his side. Even Piccolo let out a snicker, though most of the normal people, and Dabura, in the lounge didn`t understand why. "Gohan, you are the man," Krillin cackled, rolling around on the floor. "I don`t get it..."   
  
Nobody bothered replying, so Gohan turned back in time to watch Videl`s opponent roll gracefully to a stop in front of him, unconcious. "Wow, she can kick," he thought aloud, looking up at Videl`s raised hand of victory. The announcer himself seemed pretty amazed by it as well.   
  
Vegeta scowled, Yamcha snickered, Bulma grinned and Roshi cocked up an eyebrow at the sight of Videl in the ring. "Weakling," Vegeta grumbled, rocking Trunks secretively. "I`ve seen better," Yamcha admitted. "Krillin was twice as strong as she is at that age," he said with a fond remembrance of those days. Bulma didn`t really comment but Roshi did. "Gohan`s gonna have quite the looker in that girl when she`s older," he stated, a barely concealed grin on his face. Yamcha, and Bulma as well could almost sense his next words coming. "Wonder if he`ll be willin` to share..."   
  
CRACK, Bulma`s hand found it`s mark on the back of Old Man Roshi`s head, sending him forward by about three rows, landing upside down with an agonizing crack and leaving his shell to turn him over on his back in an awkward manner.   
  
"Ten-point-O," Oolong observed. "Seven-point-eight," Umi Gama added. Bulma took a well deserved bow for her skills, and Puar just giggled at the looks people gave the group of them. _"Now I remember why I don`t come to fists with her,"_ Vegeta thought, remembering how he`d had to use a senzu to replace his front teeth on more than one occasion.   
  
_ Cleverly seeing through whatever is ahead of me  
Whatever the weather be  
We invent the steadily  
It's going down to sub-terrestrial high  
  
_ "Ouch," Gohan mumbled, watching Roshi fly forward and land as he did. "Bet that hurt," he added with concern for the old master, who lay there in plain view for a few seconds and then got to his feet, only to fall back down again. Krillin looked mortified at the sight of his old sensei getting knocked senseless, but at the back of his mind, he knew the old man had probably asked for it in some way or another. "He`s got to learn to keep his mouth shut," Krillin said flatly. Spopovitch arrived in view now, a large looking man, orange hair and a bad beard to add to it, quietly walked up, shoving Gohan, or trying to, to be more accurate.   
  
Spopovitch wheeled back and kicked Gohan in the small of the back, hopping back on what foot and complaining about the pain he recieved as a result. Gohan looked over his shoulder and, as cheerfully as he could possibly manage, spoke up. "Good luck in our match," he said aloud with a smile, looking back to the ring and mumbling out, "big, ugly, orange haired jack-ass," he added quietly, earning a snicker from Krillin and a hairless, raised eyebrow from Piccolo, who heard it plainly.   
  
Trunks shot a glare at Spopovitch, but he didn`t say anything at all.   
  
The hour wore on, and Videl calmly plowed right through her opponents, cutting each and every one of them down with precision and speed that was flat out spectacular - compared to the average human. Finally though, as she finished off her last opponent with something of an uppercut-jumping Karate kick combination, throwing the fourteen year old boy out of the ring and spinning into the announcer, who fell over and twitched briefly before scraping himself back up and speaking, interweaving a few complex, action prone poses into his words.   
  
"The winner, of the Junior Tenkaichi Budoukai, for the second time in a row, is Videl Satan!" He called out, drawing thousands of cheers from the crowds up in the stands, most of whom were absolutely elated. Even Vegeta gave a passing wave of his right hand, subtle as the gesture was, his way of saying someone had done a job well.   
  
"And now, I bet you all didn`t see this coming, but we have a special, surprise treat for you all..." He paused.   
  
"A special exhibition match between champions! Videl Satan will face off against her father, the great **Mister Satan**!" He cried out. Gohan raised both brows in surprise, Krillin raised one and everybody in the fighter`s lounge but Piccolo and Dabura exclaimed surprise in some way or another, even Trunks, Zangya and Eighteen. Piccolo and Dabura however, seemed to be playing a game. Piccolo stared at Dabura as if studying him, Dabura returned the stare with disgust in his eyes, a smirk on his face as if taunting Piccolo to make a move.   
  
Hercule walked by, between the two as if trying to gather their attention. Neither even blinked in his general direction. Hercule walked on, passing through the group of fighters then then inching by Gohan and Krillin before going into full Mister Satan Mode, throwing a hand up and laughing victoriously, two fingers extended in a 'V' to the crowd as he made his way to the ring and jumped in.   
  
Videl looked nervous.   
  
"You can do it Videl! Take him out!" Gohan cheered loudly. Krillin took note of the way the girl seemed to get a bit of confidence from Gohan`s cheers, and Trunks soon stepped up behind the both of them. "This should be interesting," he mused aloud, watching Videl take classic fighter`s stance while Hercule posed for the crowd.   
  
_ I rhyme regiment that's calling the shots  
Execution of collaborative plots  
Ready to bring the separation of style to a stop  
  
_ Hercule then looked at Videl and smirked. "Now Videl, just `cause you`re my daughter and a champ yourself, don`t expect me to go very easy on ya," he warned with little concern. Videl didn`t acknowledge him as her father, he was just another opponent.   
  
"But I will try to control my incredible strength and give you a chance, it`s the least I can do for my fans," he stated, as if not even remembering that she was his daughter. Videl cut off any further comment from him by jumping a few feet up into the air and crashing both feet into her father`s forehead, causing him to stagger back briefly only to gracelessly regain his balance and sweep at her legs.   
  
Contrary to what he`d said, Hercule Satan was not holding back. Videl flew up from the impact, landing with a skid and catching herself before running back towards him and jumping up onto his shoulder. Hercule turned around and attempted to back hand her as she jumped off, but Videl twisted out of the way and - still in mid-air - brought her palm up in an uppercut, throwing Hercule back a few steps before he caught him and swiftly drove his elbow down into his daughter`s stomach. Videl cried out and landed with a thud, sweeping up to her feet and knocking Hercule`s legs out from under him, causing the champ to fall to his side on one hand and bring both legs forward, only to have Videl roll underneath him and out of the way, jumping up to her feet and kneeing him in the back.   
  
Gohan was surprised, Trunks actually let his eyes widen and Krillin was smug. "Videl`s either really good for her age or Hercule just sucks," he muttered, already of the belief that it was a combination of both. Gohan shook his head at his adopted uncle, watching the fight carry on with a good bit of interest.   
  
Videl handsprung back, avoiding her father`s leg while he tried to kick her. Her balance was flawed, Hercule spotted it and rammed his shoulder full force into her, throwing Videl back even closer to the edge of the ring. She landed, Hercule tried to knee her in the face and in a flurry of movement it all happened.   
  
Hercule felt his leg grabbed at the back of the knee, Videl threw her weight into trying to throw him over and out of the ring, Hercule jumped up and spun in mid-air, feeling his knee slightly jarring and his other foot came crashing into Videl`s collarbone, throwing her out of the ring with a thud on the grass.   
  
The champion landed with a brief stumble and then raised both hands. "Not even the future can beat me!" He announced brightly as Videl got to her feet, spitting out a bit of blood and walking away without staying around for the victory celebration. Gohan caught her by the arm and spoke up as she tried to enter the fighter`s lounge. "Good show out there Videl, even if he did win he probably had to hurt himself to do it," Gohan said, and Videl`s spirits rose a bit at his vote of unchanged confidence.   
  
Videl exited the lounge. It was time for the real tournament to get underway...   
  
_

End Part One  
  


_

* * *

  
**Author`s Note:** Hope you enjoyed the first part of Hybrid Theory Redux folks. You`re in for some spectacular battles, a bit of drama and some romance dashed onto the side before this one`s over, including the mother of all Tenkaichi Budoukai cliffhangers!  
  
The _Sh33p_  



	2. High Voltage

**Author`s Note:** Part two of Hybrid Theory... This one might actually make you feel sorry for Spopovitch... *snicker*  
  
I know I said I`d update once a week but... Who cares? Every few days or so, I`ll update. Moving along...  
  
**Disclaimer:** I own the equivelent of Jack and his lovely partner, shit. Unfortunately, Jack just skipped town...  
  


* * *

  
**

Hybrid Theory  


**_ High Voltage  
  
  
_  
Videl sat down at the fighter`s box, the sixteen seats reserved with the best view of the fighting, intended to give the Junior Champion and losers from the main tournament the chance to hang around and watch the rest of the fights if they desired. Videl had chosen to stick around, her father had vanished inside after their match but her focus wasn`t on that.   
  
_Just do something to tell you who I am, you know?   
  
_ Videl`s focus was on the youngster who was wishing his first sensei good luck against a strange looking woman with orange hair in a fighting gi similar to the one the youngster himself wore, only lacking kanjis and with a white undershirt rather than a blue one. Son Gohan, Videl wasn`t quite through figuring it out, but she would sooner or later. There were just too many similarities not to. She frowned lightly at that look of resignation on his face as he waved to the one he`d called Piccolo, the one he treated like a father figure or an uncle, and then vanished back into the shadows. Videl shook her head but didn`t look to the ring even as the announcer prepared to get the match under way.   
  
"... Ma Jr, records indicate, played a heavy hand in a match against Son Goku something like eleven years ago that almost leveled the entire arena," the announcer called out uncertainly running up and walking alongside Piccolo. "Is that right?" He asked. Piccolo gave something resembling a smirk and then looked down at him. "I`ll try not to level the place this time," he stated, causing Zangya to chuckle a bit as the two entered the ring.   
  
"Ready?" Zangya asked, taking one brisk jump and landing in the Northern side of the ring, while Piccolo calmly walked to the Southern side, looking over at her with something of a mix of a hardened game face and a grin. "Not yet," he replied, taking off his turban, and then his cloak and mantle, rolling them up calmly and then, almost lazily, tossing the bundle of clothing over to the entrance to the fighter`s lounge, causing dust and dirt to fly up into a wave around it as it landed, proving itself to be exceptionally heavy by any standard.   
  
Zangya cocked up an eyebrow. "Heavier than what you wore at the Gyoosan," she said with a bit of sarcasm. "I tend to change cloaks whenever I get so used to them that they feel light," Piccolo answered without a moment`s pause. Zangya gave a nod and then slid into fighting stance, one leg moving forward, the other remaining stationary, both legs bent at the knee, arms moving up in a Thai boxer styled block with both hands open as if to grab something. Piccolo bent his arms halfway up at the elbow so that they pointed in Zangya`s direction, then crossed them into an 'X' over his face, taking a few seconds to summon up his power and then...   
  
Both fighters vanished into a blur, explosions sounding off from the center of the ring before Piccolo came into view, almost a blur still, but holding onto something orange, long and curly, seeming to spin it around briefly and then throw it straight up before yanking it back down and slamming it into the ring. Tiles cracked and Zangya lay there briefly, plainly visible and obviously griping to herself about needing a new haircut when this was all over.   
  
Piccolo backflipped away and then took flight while already in mid-air, darting straand throwing a pair of ki blasts down at Zangya, who got to her feet and spun around, slapping one off the east, the other being punched straight on and exploding into a cloud of smoke around her. Zangya quickly emerged, off a loud cry as she closed with Piccolo, who clasped his hands together and threw them down, seeking to crash them into her head. Zangya brought one arm up and blocked it, punching Piccolo right through the stomach and out the small of his back with her other hand.   
  
A Namekian scream filled the air.   
  
"Piccolo!" Gohan yelped out, rushing outside to view his mentor, impaled on Zangya`s fist. She looked a little strained but Piccolo`s eyes had gone blank. Trunks and Krillin didn`t rush though, they`d taken the reigns of studying Dabura, who remained quiet and intense even now.   
  
_ It's high voltage you can't shake the shock  
Because nobody wants it to stop, check it out  
It's high voltage you can't shake the shock  
  
_ "It looks like Ma Jr`s going to be out of this and in the hospital, Zangya could... No, wait," the announcer tried to keep up as Zangya tore her hand out through Piccolo`s side and punched him in the cheek, throwing him to the side. Piccolo halted, looking dazed and disoriented, then slowly floated down to the ring. "Ma Jr, can you go on?!" The announcer asked concernedly. Piccolo glared at him and let out a scream as his stomach and right side seemed to fix themselves up out of no where. "The match will continue!" The announcer yelped out while falling back, feeling a gust of wind throw him down.   
  
Piccolo backflipped in mid-flight, crashing his leg into Zangya`s neck and throwing her aside a few yards before she stopped herself, spinning and firing off a ki bolt at him, which was promptly slapped away. The Namek returned to the attack, extending(quite literally) his arm forward a few yards and then constricting it around Zangya, who didn`t bother to Zanzoken out of it. "Ma Jr has Zangya in some sort of lock..."   
  
Piccolo dove down only to find himself grabbed right back up and spun around as Zangya turned herself into a smallscale tornado, eventually throwing him back into the ring and darting down after him. Zangya halted herself in mid-flight, breaking about a foot over the ring floor and then blasting forward, kicking up enormous amounts of dust and causing a few tiles to push against one another.   
  
Piccolo got to his feet and blurred out of the way, reappeared a few yards behind her and turning around with a loud cry, extending his hand back out and throwing what looked like a comet at Zangya, who was struck squarely in the back. Zangya slammed into the ring and skidded to a halt at the edge of it as Piccolo roared his victory, jumping the distance over towards her and then crouching down on impact, sweeping his legs out in a wide path to try and kick her while she handsprung up and flipped over them hanging upside down in the air after axe-handling Piccolo in the shoulder and sending him into a bouncing roll out of the ring.   
  
He stopped himself from falling out all together though, hovering just inches off the ground and then lifting back up. Piccolo smirked, touching down in the ring again. Zangya mirrored it and the two took a moment to catch their breath as the announcer blinked his eyes in shock. "Not bad," Zangya admitted, a cut opening up on her cheek as she did so. "I improved since I fought Bojack," Piccolo replied simply. "Not enough though," Zangya added with a grin, blasting forward quick enough to leave a dozen after images in her wake, each of which slammed into Piccolo in the same way.   
  
Piccolo flew back and again left the ring, this time creating an aura and flying straight up over the crowd as best he could, making him move diagonally since Zangya`s momentum was still forcing him back. Piccolo finally stopped himself at about the last row, pausing in that stance as the crowd began to get over their initial silence and start cheering ravenously for either fighter. 'Ma' chants started filling the arena, rivaled by 'Zangya' chants which eventually overtook them.   
  
_ "I`m at least knocking her out with me,"_ Piccolo thought, eyes narrowing as four of the tiles lifted from the ring floor.   
  
_ I've been taking into crates ever since I was living in space  
Before the rat race, before monkeys had human traits  
Mastered numerology and big bang theology  
Preformed lobotomies with telekinetic psychology  
  
_ Zangya took a step back and rubbed her shoulder somewhat, only to find her head sandwhiched between two tiles, which slammed in at the same moment and shattered. Two more repeated the pattern and Zangya wobbled briefly and fell backwards, shaking her head only to get a knee to the sternum as Piccolo touched down beside her and lashed out, driving his elbow into the back of her head a second later. Zangya fell to her side and the ten count began while Piccolo stepped away, turning around and facing her.   
  
Zangya groaned before finding she was lifting off of the ground, then realized it wasn`t under her own power. "Ah crap," she muttered, looking over to Piccolo with a grimace as he darted forward. Zangya screamed and cupped her hands in front of her with a loud yell, an invisible wall of air flying forward and slamming into Piccolo, wrapping around him and then exploding fiercely.   
  
Zangya was dropped to her knees on the ring floor and Piccolo soon stumbled out of the smoke with a dazed look on his face, finally falling to his side as the ten count began again. The announcer made it to five before Piccolo got back up, and Zangya wasn`t far behind, looking a lot less worse for wear than her opponent, who was no missing most of his shirt save for the right strap, which looked almost toga-like on his at the moment, and most of the right pant`s leg was missing all together, the other missing parts over the knee and the back of the lower leg. Physically, he wasn`t much better off than his clothing, most of his visible skin wearing the wet green shade that was his blood.   
  
"Told you so," Zangya quipped. Piccolo growled in response, letting out a loud kiai-type of yell that threw Zangya back a few feet and then following up by screaming again, jumping up, curling into a ball and then throwing himself straight out, the blood flying away to reveal new skin, antennae straightening back out and body seemingly healing up instantly as he touched down. "... You just don`t know to take a hint, do you?" Zangya asked sardonically.   
  
"Ma Jr is going all the way!" The announcer called out, wiping some of Piccolo`s blood from himself and making a mental note to pause the tournament long enough to replace a few tiles and mop away Piccolo`s blood. Zangya took in a deep breath, then cracked her neck and yelled out something in an unknown language, throwing her hands forward. Hundreds of 'strings' of light flashed out of her hands and caught Piccolo wrapping around him and sapping strength more and more with every movement.   
  
Piccolo took a few more steps forward, looking enraged, then finally detected his last second chance. He had enough power left, so he stopped moving, then spoke. "Renzoku Senkodan," he muttered, telekinetically ripping the tiles up from Zangya`s feet and then yelling out loudly as the ki balls flew out from his free hand, dozens of them, all assuming a spherical pattern around the now hovering, surprised Zangya, who cursed loudly, only to have her words blocked out by the sound of a massive explosion.   
  
_ Invented the mic so I could start blessing it  
And chin checkin' kids to make my point like an impressionist  
Many men have tried to shake us  
But I twist mic cords to double helixes and show them what I'm made of  
  
_ The explosion was bright, green and especially powerful, the shockwave of air alone pushing many spectators into their seats and causing Piccolo himself to fall back down to his knees. Zangya had vanished inside the blast, and as the smoke cleared it almost looked like she was gone for good.   
  
"Holy mother of God!" The announcer blurted out, watching her slowly fall from the smoke to her feet inside the ring. She looked visibly beaten up now, smoke rising off of her, numerous bruises and burn marks, one of the short sleeves of her white undershirt missing all together, her overshirt missing a strap and one of her wristbands missing entirely. Crimson stained parts of her clothing, but she was alive and kicking, if not severely winded.   
  
Piccolo grumbled faintly and then fell to his stomach, while Zangya fell to her knees, the crowd becoming deathly silent. Seconds passed. The announcer was too shocked to begin the ten count.   
  
_ I buckle knees like leg braces  
Cast the spell of instrumental-ness and all of the emcees that hate us  
So try on, leave you without a shoulder to cry on  
From now to infinity let icons be bygones  
  
_ Piccolo slowly, painfully got to his feet with a stagger, looking up from the ring floor to Zangya with the most winded expression seen of him since he`d fought against Frieza. Zangya was still on her knees, but she wasn`t out, beginning to form a ki blast in her hand and get up to one knee, pouring more and more energy into the ball of lethal ki. Piccolo however, held the most unfathomable look anyone had ever seen of him in his life, something even Gohan hadn`t witnessed before.   
  
Zangya paused, watching as Piccolo gathered his wits about himself and turned away, walking slowly towards the stairs and then looking over his shoulder to her once again while speaking to the announcer. "I know when I`ve lost. I concede the match," he stated simply, stepping from the ring and leaving most of the crowd speechless, especially Bulma, Yamcha, Roshi, Vegeta, Oolong, Umi Gama and Puar, who were all(save Vegeta) practically scraping their jaws from the floor in shock.   
  
"Pathetic," Vegeta muttered, still rocking the baby version of Trunks from side to side, the grin on his face revealing a subtle form of acknowledgement for the Namek`s endurance, even if he was outwardly condemning him.   
  
"Zangya has won the match!" The announcer screamed, and the crowds finally went into cheers, chanting her name again and again as she fell over out of the ring and then stumbled out of view into the fighter`s lounge after Piccolo.   
  
Piccolo sat down slowly in the lounge, ignoring the still silently intense Dabura, who regarded Zangya now with passing amusement written in his eyes, if not his face. Gohan was gaping in surprise as Zangya staggered in after Piccolo, and Krillin and Eighteen both helped her over to a seated position beside the winded Piccolo, strings of a glittering nature falling off of him now under Zangya`s whim.   
  
"Good match," Zangya admitted exhaustedly flopping her head back against the seat and leaning into it heavily. Piccolo grunted in response and allowed himself to fall sideways and onto the floor, out cold. Gohan worriedly walked over to his mentor, scraping him from the floor and looking over his shoulder. "We`re going to be paused for about twenty minutes replacing some tiles and cleaning up here in the ring, after that, the tournament will continue," the announcer exclaimed. Gohan sighed in relief and heaved Piccolo over his shoulder. "Krillin, I`m gonna go get some Senzu beans," Gohan stated, setting Piccolo back down in the chair and then heading for the back door. "You know where Korin`s Tower is, don`t you?" Krillin asked.   
  
"Beneath the Look Out, right?" Gohan asked in reply. Krillin gave a nod and walked over to Piccolo and Zangya, congratulating both of them on a spectacular match and praying he didn`t have to face either of them at their fullest.   
  
Gohan hurriedly moved out through the door no one was likely to spot him in and flared his ki, a whitish aura taking hold around him while he picked himself up and darted straight into the air like a rocket, too quickly for anyone to make out the details of his appearance.   
  
_ I fire bomb ghostly notes haunt this  
I've tried threats but moved on to a promise  
I stomp shit with or without an accomplish  
The stamp of approval is on this  
  
_ Eighteen stepped back and shook Zangya a bit. "Good work," she stated autonomously. Zangya gave a chuckle and wiped her mouth off, feeling sore all over. "He got better alright," she chuckled out. Eighteen didn`t reply, after all - she wasn`t here to take the championship.   
  
_ It's high voltage you can't shake the shock  
Because nobody wants it to stop, check it out  
It's high voltage you can't shake the shock  
Because nobody wants it to stop, check it out  
  
_ Videl sat there with the family look of shock on her face, eyes wider than dinner plates at the display she`d just seen. If Piccolo was that good, would that mean Gohan was better? She blinked a few times and shook her head in disbelief. "No way," she muttered. "Those weren`t tricks at all," she added a few seconds later, intent on drilling Piccolo if he came up to the fighter`s box. Assuming she had the guts to.   
  
_ "My fight against dad was nothing compared to that,"_ Videl thought. _"Those two could probably blow up the planet if they wanted, and I bet they wouldn`t even break a sweat doing it either!"_ She thought again, speculating rampantly. "What is going on here?" She mumbled in shocked dismay. Videl hated being left out on things, she liked knowing what was going on, even if it didn`t involve her remotely. She hated misinformation as well, and most of all: She hated it when people felt she didn`t need to know, even when she truly didn`t.   
  
_ "I`ll find out, just like I`ll find out with Gohan and everything else,"_ she promised herself, almost not wanting to find out for the sheer challenge of it.   
  
_ Akira, put a kink in the backbones of clones with microphones  
Never satisfy my rhyme jones  
Spraying bright day over what you might say  
Blood type craillon  
Technicolor type A  
On highways with road rage I'm patient to win  
  
_ Dabura shifted his gaze from Piccolo to Zangya, then his senses at large to the figure of a boy moving away rapidly. Dabura could almost smell the power off of the boy, hear it rushing through his veins and see it pouring out of every orifice on his body. _"Master Babidee,"_ Dabura reported. _"We have some unexpected arrivals. Most of the tournament fighters are pathetic weaklings, but a few, and one in the audience I believe, have proved to be exceptionally powerful,"_ he stated.   
  
_ "Good,"_ came the voice of his master, a bit of elation apparent in it. _"Keep your cover, Dabura, I want to be sure you can test them all. You know when to act, don`t you?"_ Dabura gave a silent nod to himself in answer. _"Good. Be in contact with me when you win the tournament,"_ Babidee replied before silence filled the Demon King`s mind, silence save for his own thoughts. Thoughts that were loyal, venomous and violent all at once. He would be patient, as his master had ordered, but that didn`t mean he wouldn`t have any fun.   
  
Especially when it came time to face off with any of the stronger opponents he`d be likely to face off with during the tournament.   
  
  
Korin looked up expectantly, a smirk on the old trickster god-cat`s face as he watched the incoming aura of the child of one of his few old students, who touched down quickly and quietly as the spitting image of Son Goku himself, shrunken by about a foot and two inches and close to fifty or sixty pounds, with his hair only passingly more orderly that that of his father. "Was wondering when I`d get to meet you," Korin admitted, watching Yajirobe give a lazy wave. "Here for some Senzu beans, huh?"   
  
Gohan smiled and gave a nod. "Yeah, I need a few for the tournament," he answered, walking over to the cat and offering his hand. "Nice to meet you," he stated. Korin just nodded, and Gohan eventually drew his hand back in respose. "Nice to meet you as well," Korin finally replied, seeming to look Gohan up and down knowingly. Gohan quickly looked up and reached out, fumbling the pouch of Senzu beans briefly before successfully catching them. Yajirobe snickered.   
  
"Not much of a baseball fan, huh?" Korin chuckled, realizing how bad this kid probably was at sports. "Not really," Gohan answered. "Just like your old man," Korin replied. "You`d best hurry back now, wasted enough time up here dealin` with me, eh?" Korin asked. Gohan gave a nod. "Good to meet you Korin, bye," Gohan said, half-gone by the time Korin heard him. Mortals were such interests for the 800 year old former Kami, who smirked to himself at thoughts only he could truly understand. "Somethin` funny Korin?" Yajirobe asked.   
  
"Nothing, Yajirobe. Nothing at all," Korin replied.   
  
_ The cage and the tin to bounce all around  
In surround sound devouring the scene  
Subliminal gangrene paintings  
Overall the same things sing songs karaoke copy madness  
Break bones verbally with sticks and stone tactics  
Fourth dimension, combat convention  
  
_ Gohan quickly covered the distance back to the Tenkaichi Budoukai arena, somehow managing to do so just a minute before his match was slated to begin. He touched down, out of sight at the back entrance to the fighter`s lounge and darted inside, hovering his way through and coming to a stop in the lounge itself, where he tossed the beans over to Krillin and then jumped the way over to Spopovitch, who was growling inanely to himself.   
  
"Ready?" Gohan asked as Krillin fumbled and caught the pouch, emptying out two beans and jamming one into Piccolo`s mouth before helping him chew it, then giving the other over to Zangya, who had no real issue downing her`s. Both were effectively good as new the very moment they finished eating the beans, and Piccolo was quickly on his feet, walking out of the lounge with a backhanded wave and forgetting to get his cloak and turban.   
  
Zangya gave a nod to him by the time Spopovitch responded. "You`re gonna die, kid," he growled out. "That`s nice," Gohan replied with a shrug. Spopovitch rolled his eyes at the thought of losing to a mere boy, and quietly, _somehow_, managed to shove Gohan aside and walk out with a full victory pose in each step, his opponent casually, calmly walking out beside him as the announcer introduced them both to the crowds.   
  
"Spopovitch is an amatuer competitor to the tournaments, but is heavily favored to win this year on his first time after scoring a whole 200 on the punching machine!" The announcer stated. Videl rolled her eyes, unnoticing as Piccolo took the seat next to her, until she caught the scent of burnt clothing and dried blood, looking over at him. "Oh," she mumbled, catching a glint of pride, very well concealed, as the announcer then introduced Gohan.   
  
"Son Gohan Jr is also a new competitor to the tournaments, and at the age of eleven, he`s the youngest competitor since... Wow," the announcer mumbled that last word and continued. "Since his father first competed in the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai something like fifteen years ago. The son of the legendary Son Goku, Gohan was placed into the adult division out of fear that he would be too strong to safely compete in the Juniors. Here`s hoping they were right about that," the announcer stated to the collective gasps of most of the audience, save for a select crowd in row K-3B, some of whom snickered, one of whom snored and one of whom smugly replied to the announcer. "The Seniors weren`t even fair to the brat," Vegeta mumbled. "A Saiya-jin needs more than pathetic humans for a challenge," he stated, getting a hard slap on the back of the head from Bulma, though he didn`t fly forward as Roshi had. A growl and Vegeta silenced, spotting the look Bulma gave him with the kind of understanding that none aside from Bulma and Vegeta could really comprehend.   
  
"Ready to die, runt?!" Spopovitch yelled out. Gohan raised an eyebrow and then looked over to the announcer. "Isn`t killing your opponent in these things against the rules?" He asked. "Yes, generally, accept for an exception about ten years ago when a former champion killed a man in self-defense, but that was after the match when the man pulled a knife on him," the announcer replied. "Ah, I see," Gohan answered, looking back at Spopovitch with amusement. "Why the threats if you can`t back th em up without being disqualified?"   
  
_ Write rhymes at ease while the tracks stand at attention  
Meant to put you away with the pencil  
Pistol, official, 16 line rhyme missile  
While you risk it all, I pick out of your flaws  
  
"He`s too confident,"_ Roshi thought. _"Not to mention the fact he`s outgunned so much it isn`t even funny..."_ He added, leaning on his staff a bit. "This will be short," Roshi mumbled. Oolong was the first to reply. "Twenty zenni says the kid takes him with the first punch," Oolong offered, raising a twenty zenni bill. Roshi looked at him and spoke. "Raise ya thirty that Gohan lets `im have the first punch," Roshi replied. "You don`t have thirty," Umi Gama pointed out. "I meant thirty o` my magazines," he replied. "... That`ll work," Oolong said with stars in his eyes. Roshi snickered and everyone but Vegeta and the snoring baby Trunks seemed to gather a sizeable amount of sweat up on their brows.   
  
Then to everyone`s surprise, it was Vegeta who raised the ante even further. "Fifty zenni and one of Bulma`s bras says the brat beats him with a dodge and a kick," he added, bringing a mortified expression to Bulma and a lovesick expression to Oolong and Roshi. "You`re on!" Both announced in unison.   
  
The bell rung.   
  
"Spopovitch is charging him..."   
  
Gohan ducked a kick and then hopped back, spinning in mid-flight and cracking his ankle into Spopovitch`s cheek, sending a dozen teeth flying into the walls and throwing Spopovitch himself out of the ring with a loud crack of concrete in the wall he crashed into. "Ehm... Remind me to pay for that guy`s dental coverage if he isn`t insured," Gohan mumbled to himself. _"Didn`t know he was **that** weak,"_ he thought surprisedly.   
  
"Pay up," Vegeta demanded. "Ah damnit, now I gotta sell some o` my magazines," Roshi grumbled. Oolong silently, defeatedly handed Vegeta a fifty zenni bill and glared at Roshi. "... Ah, you owed rent anyway," Roshi replied to Oolong`s glare. Vegeta tucked the bill into his pocket and smiled to Bulma, as if saying 'I told you I wouldn`t let you down when I got back from Cell' in that secret language of expression they held with one another. Bulma glared but let it go, watching him smile a few seconds longer and then turn back to the ring.   
  
"Son Gohan has won the match in a startling upset!" The announcer called out as a blushing Gohan walked from the ring and waved to the crowd, vanishing from sight into the lounge a few seconds later.   
  
_ Spin, blah blah blah blah  
You can say you saw  
  
_ "H... How did... How did he do that?!" Videl yelled, eyes big as saucers. "He`s stronger than he looks," Piccolo answered quietly with that gruff voice of his, leaning forward somewhat and waiting for the next match with that faint pride just barely visible in his expression. "Yeah," Videl murmured, still in shock as the crowd continued cheering. "Guess it really would have been unfair if he got put in the juniors," she mumbled.   
  


_ End Part Two  
  
_

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****

Author`s Note: Hope you enjoyed the second installment of Hybrid Theory Redux! Thanks for the reviews and keep `em comin`.  
  
The _Sh33p_  



	3. Step Up

**Author`s Note:** Here`s part three, featuring more mindless violence, character development, dramatic tributes and roughly 50% more Spiffings™ than the two chapters before it. You might actually feel sorry for Hercule by the end of this one...  
  
**Disclaimer:** 1 d0 n07 03n Dr4g0nb411 2, k4y?  
  


* * *

  
**Hybrid Theory Redux  
**_ Step Up_  
  
  


  
People were still reeling from the earlier victory of a boy who couldn`t even claim to have lived into his early teens yet over a newcomer who looked set to take the gold at this year`s tournament, not to mention the arena rocking miniature war that had occured in the match prior to that when the announcer walked out, followed by the two paramedics who efficiently scraped Spopovitch`s body out of it`s Spopovitch-sized crater in the arena wall, obviously a bit shaken by the day`s events so far but managing to contain his obvious excitement.   
  
"And now, our next match will pit a finalist in the last tournament, Jewel, against a two time quarter finalist and a one time semi-finalist, as well as a former champion of the North, and West Budoukais, Krillin!" He called out, giving off a list of either fighter`s attributes. "Jewel showed strong in the last tournament, coming close to knocking out Hercule three times in one of the longest, most brutal matches since the reign of Son Goku, losing only when Hercule expertly dodged his unique variant of the body scissors kick and delivered a patented Satan Kick into the throat while still in mid-air, hurling Jewel from the ring. Krillin on the other hand, came into the Tenkaichi Budoukai at the age of 13, at the time the second youngest competitor ever to grace the world stage, losing solely to the champion of the 21st Budoukai, Jackie Chun, and coming in as a strong quarter finalist in the two following tournaments. Up until the arrival of Son Gohan in this tournament, Krillin reigned in as the second youngest competitor of all time behind his best friend, the late, great Son Goku, who I`m told only failed to show at the last Budoukai due to his untimely demise as the result of a heart disease," the announcer explained, even as most of the fighters who knew him, and a small crowd in the audience, in particular a woman in her middle ages, a boy who`d shocked the world and a Namekian warrior, all bowed their heads in respect.   
  
Krillin sighed somewhat as Jewel walked up to him and spoke. "How`s a noseless shrimp like you going to take on a beautiful warrior like me? Just give up!" He taunted. Krillin sneered at him and spoke in an especially threatening voice, eyes narrowing as he did so. "I may not be a good looker, but at least no one`s gonna be confusing _me_ for a girl anytime soon," he replied snidely, rubbing it in a few seconds later. "Why do you think I came in as a finalist and a semi-finalist three times, prettyboy?" He asked, not bothering to answer as he walked out of the lounge leaving behind a fairly irate Jewel.   
  
"And here comes Krillin, looking somewhat somber at the mo-" The announcer stopped as Krillin walked up to him and tapped his midsection. "Mind givin` a moment of silence for Goku?" He asked. "With pleasure," the announcer nodded back before looking back to the crowds. "As a request from Krillin, I`m going to ask all of you for a moment of silence in the memory of Son Goku," the announcer asked. The crowd was a bit in surprise but they did as asked. A rare smirk graced Piccolo`s face as he bowed his head again, earning a raised eyebrow from Videl.   
  
It was a blessing that Hercule wasn`t present, he`d have probably caused the loudest roar in history just to get some attention.   
  
"... And on with the match," the announcer stated, looking for Jewel. The blonde fighter came darting out of the fighter`s lounge at Krillin, who already stood waiting for him. "I`ll kill you, you little runt!" Jewel yelled out, jumping into the air with a corkscrewing flip and coming down at Krillin...   
  
Only to land on the surface of the ring in a crouch. Krillin had dodged to the side at the last second, his right foot coming out in a straight line and hitting Jewel in the right knee, causing him to fall into Krillin`s direction, only to slam into Krillin`s elbow, then his forearm, causing him to corkscrew in every direction while flying out of the ring and crashing into the ground, bouncing off and landing with a roll into the stands, where he seemed to fall in reverse up the steps and come to a halt at the mid-row, unconcious, missing at least a few of his teeth, with a broken nose and a shattered cheekbone, eyes rolling around independantly of one another.   
  
Needless to say, the token bishounen was seeing stars.   
  
"As if we needed to be reminded why Krillin is almost as legendary as Goku himself anymore than we already were! Give him a hand folks!" The announcer called out as Krillin raised his hand in a V-for-victory kind of sign, exiting the ring with a happy little smirk.   
  
_ Watch as the road rocks  
Men only moon walk  
Mixed media slang  
Banging in your boom box  
  
_ And that`s when it all went down as it shouldn`t have. Hercule jumped out of the lounge area, managing to somehow cause Krillin to falter back, but not fall over while he ran for the announcer and grabbed the microphone. He hopped into the ring and began to speak...   
  
_ Verbal violence, lyrical stylists  
In a time when rock-hip hop rhymes are childish  
You can't tell me with rhymes that are empty  
Rapping to a beat doesn't make you an MC  
With your lack of skill and facility you're killing me  
  
_ "Yeah!" Hercule called out. "Do you people wanna see some _real fighting_?!" He asked. The crowd was silent. Hercule cleared his throat. "Hello?!" He demanded as the announcer walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, pointing over at Jewel. "That little short guy did that," he stated nonchalantly. Hercule`s jaw dropped and his eyes seemed to bug out momentarily before he got his 'courage' back and spoke up, noticing the crowd was finally paying attention to him.   
  
Krillin just broke into a snickering fit though, falling over and clutching his side in laughter.   
  
"You people wanna see some real action?!" Hercule asked. The crowd cheered, a few people booed but nobody could really hear them. "You know what?" He asked the crowd, who replied with a blaringly loud chant of the word 'what' in reply. "How many people know I`m gonna beat the blue snot outta Dab`ra?!" He asked. The crowd responded with the same 'what' chant. "How many people here know I`m gonna beat him like I beat Cell and that big ugly alien, Bojack!?" Another 'what' chant.   
  
"How many people here know I`m the single greatest martial artist of **_all time_**?!" The crowd replied finally with a 'we do! Hercule rules!' chant, occasionally broken by a chanting of 'Satan' so loud that it caused Piccolo to contemplate blowing out his own ear drums to silence it.   
  
Dabura finally broke from his stance, walking to the door of the lounge and glaring at Mister Satan with a sneer. Nobody noticed him, and he soon walked back inside, intent on especially humiliating his foe to no ends when the time came.   
  
_ "I`m going to enjoy breaking every bone in that idiot`s body,"_ he thought angrily, propping himself against a wall once more.   
  
The announcer calmly yawned and grabbed the microphone from Mister Satan, sounding clearly unenthused in his plugging of the champion`s abilities. "Yeah... That`s our champ. Hercule Satan, clearly the most vocal champion in tournament history," he grumbled out. _"Do these people not remember the freaking nuclear **war** we just had here?"_ He asked himself while ushering Hercule out, much to his cries of 'I`m the champ!'   
  
_ And a DJ in the group just for credibility  
I heard it somewhere you were getting help with your rhymes  
You're not an MC if someone else writes your lines  
Rapping over rock doesn't make you a pioneer  
  
_ "Okay, moving along... Out next match pits newcomer... Number Eighteen... Is that your real name?" He asked, looking into the fighter`s lounge at the casually dressed blonde woman with the big, blue eyes that seemed so harsh to look at, yet at the same time oddly beautiful. She nodded a yes and he gave off a shrug in reply before speaking again.   
  
"As I was saying, the next match pits newcomer Number Eighteen against a former quarter finalist in Puntar, who`s shown to be a remarkably agile fighter for a big man in his last showing at the tournament, losing only when his opponent, the man Jewel beat to make it into the finals, grabbed him by the hair and judo tossed him out of the ring and onto his belly. Puntar is heavily favored to win the tournament this year, but Number Eighteen is good friends with an earlier competitor, Zangya, and has claimed to have fought and on at least one occasion, defeated Ma Junior, and is one of the first two women since Lanfan to have made it into the Tenkaichi Budoukai, so we can only guess what to expect of her as far as this tournament is going to go..."   
  
Puntar came out first, doing every 'Big Man Pose' in the book along the way, right down to waving his hand to his ear for the audience to cheer into, while Eighteen just walked around him and made her way into the ring.   
  
"Alright... And... **Fight!**" The announcer yelled out. Puntar laughed and charged at Eighteen, breaking into a quick rolling attack as if he was going to simply run over her. Eighteen stood her ground.   
  
Puntar came closer.   
  
Eighteen stood her ground.   
  
Puntar was less than a fought from Eighteen when a bright flash let up his back and he slammed into some invisible barrier, sliding down to an awkward position on his neck and getting up. He turned around, through a hard backhanded blow at Eighteen`s cheek, only to find his hand slapping against what felt like a steel wall, unyielding. He looked at this and spotted that his gigantic arm, capable of sheering a small car in half with one blow, had been caught by Number Eighteen`s middle finger. She smirked.   
  
"Uh oh," Puntar muttered, only to find himself airborn before crashing through the roof of an office building a half a second later, twelve blocks from the spot he had been standing in less than a second and a half earlier. Eighteen still hovered in the pose where she`d jumped up and uppercut Puntar in the chin, lowering down and touching onto the ground before walking into the lounge with her hands in her pockets.   
  
The announcer blinked. "Eighteen wins," he mumbled out before looking at his card. "Okay... Next match will be Yamu against Killa!"   
  
_ Cause rock and hip hop collaborated for years  
But now they're getting readily mixed and matched up  
Well after a fast buck and all the tracks suck  
So how does it stack up, none of it's real  
You wanna be an MC, you gotta study the skill  
  
_ "What kind of people are you guys?" Videl asked. Piccolo looked at her with a shrug. "We`re strong." He replied, looking to the ring with little interest as Killa and Yamu walked out. They dressed somewhat alike, both wearing military styled clothing, though Killa wore shorts, a muscle shirt, boots and wrappings over his hands while Yamu wore only boots and a pair of fatigues, nothing else.   
  
"Let the match begin!"   
  
"How can a scrawny woman like that Eighteen girl knock out a seven foot tall, five hundred pound man with one hit without even trying?" Videl asked. Piccolo looked sideways at her. "We`re strong," he answered again. "That doesn`t explain it," Videl grumbled. "Yes, it does," Piccolo replied. Videl glared at him, he didn`t even respond.   
  
In the ring, things weren`t as epic, nor as violent as they had been in the first match, or as quick as the three after it, but things were certainly pretty drama filled in their own right. Yamu was more agile, Killa had strength to balance it out. Yamu ducked one of Killa`s rare kicks, Killa immediately went into a crouch with his momentum, wheeling around on one foot and trying to swing out Yamu`s legs, though the other just hopped up and landed on his hands and knees, quickly readjusting his positioning and kneeing Killa in the face.   
  
Killa rolled away as Yamu ran at him, coming up with an uppercut that sent the other flying a few feet into the air and landing on his back with a bloody mouth. Yamu was swift in getting to his feet, dodging Killa`s arm and smashing his first into the other`s stomach, drawing away and elbowing Killa in the back of the head. The contest took a decidedly brutal turn as Yamu jumped up with a spin, cracking his leg across the side of Killa`s face and sending the other done with blood trickling from his face.   
  
Killa was slow to his feet and Yamu took advantage, hopping backwards and then running forward with a roll, scissoring Yamu face first into the ring floor and then flipping him onto his back while drawing away, getting to his feet and dropping an elbow into the other`s stomach.   
  
Killa laid there as Yamu got to his feet. "And it looks like Yamu is going to win this..." The announcer stated only to be corrected as Yamu left the ground from a rising tackle-into-a-bearhug, heaving Yamu up onto his shoulder and then slamming him down into the ring. Yamu let out an agonized yelp and lay there as Killa bounced off of him and to his knees, handstanding for a moment before crashing his shins into the other`s chest and rolling with the momentum onto his feet, only to fall sideways and land his elbow into Yamu`s stomach before rolling to his knees and brutally raining his fists into Yamu`s face.   
  
A few seconds later, it seemed to be over. Killa got to his feet and staggered back a bit, walking towards the announcer somewhat and speaking. "Makuhthuh account," he said in that oddball way he spoke, a result of one too many blows to the head during his kickboxing career.   
  
"This is about as exciting as watching paint dry," Krillin mumbled unenthusiastically as the count began.   
  
At about the count of five, he stopped. Killa raised an eyebrow and turned around, ducking a furious spin kick and turning around with a good speed for someone so weak compared to even an old pro like Master Roshi, his left arm shooting out and striking the bloodied Yamu right in the cheek. The other spun sideways to his knees, finding the other`s large arms wrapped around his throat in a traditional sleeper hold.   
  
Yamu cursed loudly and struggled up to his feet, wrapping his arms around the back of Killa`s head and pushing his body back as much as he could manage. Killa staggered back a bit and then found himself holding onto a now upside down, soon handstanding Yamu, who balanced on his hands while perched on Killa`s shoulders, raining down with his knees into the other`s shoulder blades while tumbling back, hands wrapping around Killa`s jaw while the kickboxer flipped over onto his belly in a most painful sort of way.   
  
"And this is slowly turning into an all out brawl," the announcer exclaimed, looking over the two bloody looking fighters with little actual astonishment but making it seem the opposite. Killa was on his feet with a second wind by now, but Yamu dodged the attempt of an uppercut, and soon Killa found himself on the recieving end of a knee into the stomach, a forearm crashing into the side of his face and sending him bent forward and to the side somewhat. An elbow into his back sent him to the ground in a heap. Yamu screamed and wheeled back, kicking Killa in the side and sending him onto his stomach. Yamu stomped Killa`s stomach repeatedly.   
  
_ "Wow, this is a bit extreme compared to most matches,"_ the announcer thought, hearing Killa scream with each stomp before Yamu grabbed him from the ring floor by the sides of his head and roughly threw him over and into the air. Killa landed with a skid and rolling out of the way, hopping to one knee and bringing his entire arm down into the back of Yamu`s head and body, grabbing his wrist in the process and driving the other face first into the ring floor. Yamu looked unconcious, but he had also looked unconcious last time Killa had him down, and Killa didn`t like repeating mistakes. With supreme effort, he walked in front of the still unmoving Yamu and bent down, grabbing him around the midsection and lifting him up into something of a flip up to one shoulder before running forward.   
  
With a yell, Killa jumped and used one arm to throw Yamu into the ring floor, skidding to a stop and clutching fists together before falling forward to his knees and slamming them into Yamu`s collar. The other screamed and reached up, grabbing Killa by the sides of the head and yanking him down while sitting up. It was Killa`s turn to taste the cement tiling, impacting with enough force to crack the tile his forehead smacked into and then falling onto his side from Yamu`s shoulder, face bloodied, nose broken and a red mark in the cracked tile that had caused the damage.   
  
Yamu got to his feet only to fall back down again as the ten count began.   
  
_ Who can rock a rhyme like this?  
Bring it to you everytime like this?  
Who can rock a rhyme like this?  
Step step up step step up  
  
  
_ Ten seconds later it was over, a draw, meaning the next match would by-pass it`s winner straight into the semi-finals. "It`s over folks, let`s give these guys a hand. They didn`t level half the ring but that`s going down in Budoukai history as one of the most brutal fights ever!" The announcer called out as paramedics carried out the two fighters, much to the gratitude of those in the lounge. They all wanted to fight. Two down just meant less competition for those who went on to the quarters.   
  
The crowds cheered and the tournament continued.   
  
"Next up is a Trunks Mirai, a first time competitor in these tournaments. The ladies are sure to love him and the guys will just have to cheer, let`s give it up!" The announcer called out as the elder version of Trunks calmly walked to the ring, waving to the masses without any real hesitation to his movements. "And his opponent is the great Mighty Mask!" The crowds continued cheering for Trunks, mainly the women, while Mighty Mask shuffled into the ring and stared. "Let the match be-" Mighty Mask flew out of the ring and smacked into a wall. "Nevermind," the announcer mumbled as Trunks walked back out of the ring.   
  
The next matches went by over the course of a half an hour, three men, Sied, Turpin and a strange looking man with a leather fetish calling himself Ether, all won their respective matches in around ten minutes each.   
  
And that`s when the real hype began. Dabura came out first, silently, without so much as a smirk when he entered the ring. Then came the pyrotechnics and the blaring of hard rock music that was about seven years out of date with the mainstream, ending with a loud roar as Hercule Satan, the Champion of the World, walking out of the lounge, hands in the air waving victory signs to all in the crowd.   
  
Videl rolled her eyes. She hoped Hercule would lose this match. Badly.   
  
"You`re goin` down Dab`ra!" Hercule threatened menacingly, posing for a moment and then jumping into the ring, his long, white cape flowing behind him. Dabura looked amused.   
  
"Yeah!"   
  
The announcer finally introduced the two. "We`re in for what may very well be one heck of a show, ladies and gentlemen, Hercule Satan proved conclusively that he **is** the man at the last Tenkaichi, and he may very well do it all over again here, becoming the first champion since the era of the Tao Battles between the great masters Kame and Tsuru to hold the title for more than one tournament. And I don`t need to tell you just who it was that saved us all from Cell, now, do I?!" He asked, calling out as the crowd screamed in approval.   
  
"As for Dabura, the most way know about him is that he blew up the punching machine and hasn`t got any past at these tournaments, he`s dressed to kill and looks mean enough to do it. Do you think Satan can win?" The announcer asked. The crowd roared a loud 'yes' in response. _"They call this idiot Satan? How did my cousin **ever** let his name be used by pathetic scum like this?"_ Dabura asked himself.   
  
_ So you pick up a pen and write yourself a new identity  
But mentally you don't have the hip hop energy  
With a tendency to make up stories  
  
_ "I`m the man! I beat Cell and now, I`m gonna beat **you**!" Hercule threatened, pointing his finger at Dabura and howling. "Sure you did," Dabura calmly replied in a hushed tone. "Then let us begin, O Great Warrior," he stated sarcastically, throwing his cape back and standing at the ready as he began to focus ki into his hand. Hercule tossed off his cloak to the ground and ran forward only to slam facefirst against a wall of air, flying back as Dabura ran around him and jumped up, lashing out with his leg across the back of the champion and sending him forward through the air.   
  
_ Sounding like the only hip hop you've heard is top 40  
And your record companies completely miss it  
And all the kids are dissing it for not being legitimate  
So in a battle you can't hack it, react with whack shit  
And get smacked with verbal back flips  
Get your ass kicked a fabulous battle catalyst  
  
_ Hercule stopped. Abruptly. A pink-red hand laid across his stomach as Dabura growled, sending a few thousand volts of electricity into Mister Satan`s body and then letting him fall to his knees in pain. The next second brought the crowd to the biggest shock of their lives as they heard a resounding crack, a spurt of blood and the sound of Mister Satan falling onto his side with a broken jaw.   
  
Videl was beginning to realize just how bad this was becoming, and Gohan was a bit surprised as well. Hercule tried to get to his feet but another spurt of blood and he was down again, one of his ears busted from a hard slap.   
  
"Is this the best you can do?" Dabura taunted, wheeling back and kicking Hercule hard in the shoulder only to reappear behind him and swat him into the arena floor, leaving a Satan-sized imprint in the ring before Dabura yanked him back up by his afro haircut and threw him straight up.   
  
Hercule landed with a hard crack, that of his shoulder breaking. He was unconcious now, but Dabura wasn`t done. The announcer couldn`t even speak as Dabura threw a light ki blast into the champ, throwing him up into the air and landing with a disgusting thump on the ground.   
  
Videl got to her feet and was about to rush to her father`s aid when Piccolo grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her back into her seat. "If he can`t do a damn thing, neither can you," Piccolo summarized bluntly. Videl teared up and watched the abuse continue.   
  
Hercule let out a vile scream as Dabura viciously kicked him in the stomach, causing a good bit of internal bleeding to occur. "Come on!" Dabura chided further, reaching down and grabbing up the champion with a smile, throwing him across the 50 square yard wide ring with a skid and roll. Hercule lay on the edge of the ring now, almost looking as though he was trying to roll out to save himself from further abuse. Dabura wouldn`t allow that though, he reappeared and grabbed the champ by his shoulders, lifting him up and throwing him back into the center of the ring.   
  
Gohan grimaced and looked around. Krillin looked smug, Trunks looked a bit disgusted and Zangya and Eighteen weren`t even paying attention. _"Come on,"_ he thought. "Just throw him out of the ring already," Gohan demanded with a whisper as Dabura slammed Hercule again.   
  
How the champ was even alive right now, let alone concious, was anybody`s guess, and Dabura continued the abuse a second later with another slap on the side of the face. Hercule`s head oozed blood and he stopped moving for the time being as Dabura picked him up by his hair and held him, raining in punch after slow, agonizing punch into his stomach.   
  
The people had about had enough, they were on the verge of throwing things. "... I guess I`ll have to then," Gohan thought, igniting an aura of silver tinged gray around himself and rocketing forward. Almost too fast for the human eye to percieve, he came closer and closer to Dabura, until it was at almost point blank, and then...   
  
_ It's taken decades for MC's to establish this  
You're new to hip hop, and welcome if you're serious  
But not on the mic, leave that to the experience  
  
_ Dabura cried out as his cheek turned purple from a bruise, leaving the ring with a clump of Hercule`s hair in one hand and smacking hard into the wall whilst Gohan looped an arm around Hercule`s side and lowered him down into the ring. The announcer stared briefly and spoke a few seconds later.   
  
"Despite his _extremely unwarranted_ brutality in this match, Dabura is going on due to outside interference, thank Dende," he stated with obvious contempt, running into the ring with a few paramedics not too far behind. Dabura emerged with a feral growl as he levitated into the ring, staring at the boy who`d dared to strike him, the boy who showed absolutely no fear and yet no stupidity in staring him down. The paramedics gently began to tend to Mister Satan as the two locked eyes.   
  
"You`re going to pay for that," Dabura threatened snidely. "Make me," Gohan retored hotly, catching the trickle of blood from the bruise he`d caused. "I am the Demon King boy, I fear _no_ mortal," Dabura growled. "Then you should really learn to," Gohan replied without a single ounce of hesitation. Dabura sneered and walked by him, down the steps and into the lounge, being mostly avoided by the 'regular' fighters as he did so.   
  
"Do you know if he`ll be alright?" Gohan asked, looking over at one of the paramedics as they loaded Hercule onto the stretcher. The medic shook his head. "Too soon to tell, son. Good job though, he might be dead right now if not for you," he replied as they carted off the still unconcious Hercule Satan, champion no more.   
  
Up in the stands, Videl had pretty much vanished from sight, darting towards the fighters` lounge as fast as her legs could carry her while Gohan walked to Krillin and told him to give Hercule a Senzu. "... And exactly why do you want to give that jack-ass a Senzu Bean?" Krillin asked cynically. Gohan frowned. "Because if he doesn`t get one, he`ll die," he replied. "And that`s bad how?"   
  
"Videl will be an orphan," Gohan responded calmly. Krillin frowned. _"Hopeless. Just like his dad,"_ he thought. "Alright, I`ll give `im a damn bean during your match," Krillin stated.   
  
_ Who can rock a rhyme like this?  
Bring it to you everytime like this?  
Who can rock a rhyme like this?  
Step step up step step up  
  
_ "Thanks Krillin, I owe ya one," Gohan replied with a smile. "Technically you owe me eight, but I`m not gonna bother bringing them all up," the shorter of the pair replied while walking towards the lounge`s exit and heading for the infirmary. Gohan shot a glare over to Dabura, who calmly spoke without looking at him directly.   
  
"Step up, mortal," Dabura commented with a grin. "If you dare."   
  
_ "Oh I`ll step up alright,"_ Gohan vowed in thought. _"If Trunks doesn`t beat the stuffing out of you, I certainly will,"_ he added. _"You can count on it."  
  


End Part Three  
  


_**

* * *

  
Author`s Note:** Heh... Hope you liked this one. As to if you`re wondering why I included the Yamu-Killa fight... Well, I felt a need to disprove the fact that people tend to characterize ANY non-main character(even the poor guys like Yamcha) as utter weaklings. Someone had to do it...  
  
And as for the 'what' chants, well... Hercule`s a wrestler, I`m a former wrestling fan so heck, why not >.>;   
  
The_ Sh33p_


	4. By Myself

**Author`s Note:** More character development than you can shake a stick at! I think...  
  
Holy crap, I got more reviews than I expected... *Chants "YES!" really friggin` loud* ... Oh yeah, sorry for makin` ya wait a bit longer on this one :\  
  
This is also the next to last chapter of Hybrid Theory Redux, and I hope ya like it...   
  
**Disclaimer:** I don`t own Dragonball, or it`s two successors, or any of the movies.  
  


* * *

  


**Hybrid Theory Redux  
** _By Myself  
_

  
  
  
It had roughly been two minutes since one champion was dethroned, surviving only from the intervention of the up and coming prodigal son of the champion before him, one minute since three combatants in the tournament mysteriously became sick and refused to compete, thirty seconds since Krillin had left the fighter`s lounge and arrived at the infirmary, fifteen seconds since he opened the door and seven and a half seconds since he came upon the press waiting room, which was filled with about half of the reporters you`d expect. The other half was either predisposed, trying get into the fighter`s lounge or still standing in shock that the most heavily favored person to win the tournament had lost without getting in so much as a kick.   
  
And roughly three and three quarters of a second since he had managed to get by them all, much to the chargrin of a few reporters, and into the room with Hercule in it. It was then that he had come to regret biting a senzu in half for Hercule, since he still held a good bit of malice for the man over the incident involving Cell. Videl sat frantically by, staring at the father she sometimes hated, sometimes missed, was sometimes dissappointed by but always held love for no matter how she felt. _"Guess the jack ass did something right after all,"_ Krillin mused, seeing Videl get up from her seat and glare at the doctor, who was obviously working as best he could on the semi-concious Mister Satan. _"Definately doesn`t deserve a daughter like her,"_ he thought while walking up to bedside and earning a harsh glare from Videl and the doctor. "What`re you doing here?" Videl demanded. "Gohan sent me, move," Krillin ordered, gently ushering the girl aside, much to her protests, and much to the protests of the doctor, he pried open Hercule`s mouth.   
  
"Eat it `fro boy, it`ll make you better," he advised, sure that somewhere in the back of Hercule`s miniature, oxygen lacking, thought deprived brain, his words registered.   
  
_ What do I do to ignore them behind me?  
Do I follow my instincts blindly?  
Do I hide my pride from these bad dreams  
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?  
  
_ Hercule`s life was almost flashing before his eyes, from his days as a clutzy youth at a temple going by his birth name rather than the alias he adopted when he hit the big time, to his shameful behavior over the past years since his wife`s death to the biggest lie ever made. Through it all, in his mind, the question flashed, a single question that, in and of itself, shattered most preconceptions of his ability to think.   
  
_ "Do I deserve anything I`ve got now?"_ He asked himself, only to hear a few words. "Eat... It`ll... better..." The voice was familiar. One of the guys from the Cell games. The taste wasn`t that good, if anything it tasted like metal, and his ability to chew it was relatively similar in his present state. "Can`t..." He gagged and coughed in mid-speech, Krillin understood already. "Alright," the monk replied, grabbing onto Hercule`s lower jaw and helping him chew the first few seconds.   
  
A crack and Hercule`s eyes snapped open while Krillin turned around and started walking away. Hercule threw himself up, almost, only to fall back down less than a second later. He had trouble speaking, but he did it anyway, much to Videl and Krillin`s mutual shock. "Thanks," he muttered before falling back asleep.   
  
"Don`t mention it," Krillin mumbled out while walking out of the room with a smug look of satisfaction on his face. Some of the reporters looked about ready to rip his head off, but he waved them off and left the infirmary after a few seconds more, passing out into the open air of the walkway back to the lounge. _"Guess there`s hope for him after all,"_ Krillin thought amusedly.   
  
  
"I`ve got good news people, Hercule has just recovered to the extent that he should be back in action in only two months, isn`t that great?!" The announcer asked, recieving a long sigh of relief from most of the crowd. Vegeta looked accusingly at the lounge, detecting the presence of Mirai Trunks, Gohan and the others who had made it further into the tournament, save Krillin, who was approaching the lounge from the direction of the infirmary.   
  
_ "Little sell-out,"_ he thought sardonically, handing the child version of Trunks over to Bulma and leaning back in his seat. _"Still... That Dabura character doesn`t seem the type to take lightly,"_ he thought, looking into the lounge as best he could and feeling for Dabura`s presence elsewhere. _"I don`t think he`s going to lose before the finals, and if he does then Trunks has improved another step up and into the realm of Beyond Super Saiya-jin,"_ he thought. _"... And if that`s the case then the little brat really isn`t the Legendary Super Saiya-jin after all, and if that`s the case..."_ Vegeta thought smugly, almost hoping the future version of his son would reveal some hidden, unbelievable power like he`d done against Cell.   
  
That power hadn`t been enough though, it lacked the speed to make it the end of Cell`s perfection, but Vegeta knew, from what Gohan had blurted out, Kakarot had also attained that form, and he also knew of the pinnacle of Super Saiya-jin, the one that Kakarot and his welp had accomplished, the one he himself was working to achieve every day he lived.   
  
Vegeta smirked. Perhaps things would be interesting after all, and there was still the fact that Gohan and Zangya had to fight it out as well, he almost couldn`t think who the winner of that confrontation would be.   
  
_ Do I sit here and try to stand it?  
Or do I try to catch them red-handed?  
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness  
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?  
  
_ "He never gives up, does `e?" The Grand Kaio asked with a chuckle. "Nope, Vegeta`s as stubborn a fighter as you`ll ever meet," Goku replied. "Seems mo`e like a moron to me," the Grand Kaio replied. "That too," Goku added. "How`d a runt like that get a woman like Bulma anyway?"   
  
Goku paused. He didn`t seem to pay any attention to the fact that the Grand Kaio had just called Vegeta, who stood a few inches taller than he, a runt, but he did seem to put some thought into their relationship. "I think Yamcha summed it up that they had a one night stand after he and Bulma officially called it quits and decided to just be friends, but after that I think he eventually fell in love with her. That or-" The Grand Kaio cut him. "That or the sex is good," he replied. Goku frowned. "That too," he answered, looking back at the events unfolding before him.   
  
_ Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin  
I make the right moves but I'm lost within  
I put on my daily facade but then  
I just end up getting hurt again  
  
_ A crack over the gongs by one of the monks and Gohan snapped his head up from looking down to make sure his boots were tied, while Zangya cracked her knuckles and stretched her legs, walking towards the exit of the lounge. Gohan soon followed to the door, a slight smirk on his face, though not the kind you would associate with a fighter such as Vegeta, or even his own father. It wasn`t a 'battle smirk,' or an arrogant smirk, just a plain smirk that resulted from finding something fun.   
  
"Let`s try not to blow up the city and shatter the sky this time," he said, looking over to a chuckling Zangya as the announcer introduced them.   
  
"As all of you by now know, Son Gohan has proven himself a quick fighter, and a capable one as well, having mowed through an entire ring of combatants and toppled Udo Merto at the Gyoosan Budoukai, as well as having proven himself a crowd favorite by being the only fighter to rush to the aid of the former champion in the last match of the opening round. He`s also the youngest competitor ever to grace the stage of the Tenkaichi Budoukai..." Gohan blushed somewhat, earning a snicker from Zangya. "Shut up," he ordered in a cracked tone of voice. "... Hell of a way to start puberty, kid," Zangya chided. Gohan blushed even further and slapped himself on the forehead.   
  
"And Zangya really needs no introduction. In her first match alone, she inched out the fighter I personally favored the most to win the tournament after Mister Satan himself, namely Ma Junior, who demolished a significant portion of the arena in his match with the legendary Son Goku. It`s amazing how many connections we can find between these two people, and given that both are known to be incredibly strong, I have no doubt we`re going to have to be ready to dodge falling objects, bodies, and explosions, but that`s what these tournaments are all about!"   
  
"I hope you know, I`m not going to be holding back," Zangya stated as they scaled the stairs and entered the ring, which had been cleaned again, though still bore a few scars of the fights that`d been seen on it earlier. "Guess I shouldn`t either, huh?" Gohan asked with a grin, his voice having eased back to normal. "Yeah, just don`t yell too loud or you`ll shatter glass," Zangya taunted. Gohan snorted and walked to his end of the ring.   
  
"Let the battle... **_BEGIN_**!" The announcer shouted, running away from the ring as quickly as he could diving behind the blast wall that had been put up in the reconstruction of the arena, almost knowing he would be thankful for having done so.   
  
Zangya gracefully folding her arms into an X above her head as her hair began to raise from the surface of the ring, a symphonic kind of sound emerging from her a few seconds later.   
  
_ I just end up getting hurt again   
  
_ Gohan dodged to the side, landing with a hard skid before jumping straight up, spinning and avoiding all of Zangya`s rapidly moving attacks in the process. He was still airborn when she caught up to him, blurring into view with a yell as she closed her hands forward of herself, letting out a yell and launching a bolt of energy forward. It struck and set off a large, perhaps too large, explosion, which enveloped Gohan and blinded all view of his body from outside.   
  
The cloud of smoke suddenly began to rush though, faster and faster it moved as beams of golden light ripped through it, the air of the arena suddenly becoming hotter by a noticable margin for a few seconds. Cameras within five blocks of the arena exploded and then the heat faded, bits of golden energy streaking into the cloud before it exploded away to reveal a far more serious looking youth standing in the first stage of Super Saiya-jin, power rushing around him in the form of a golden aura, hair a shade of golden that put even the sun to shame and eyes a shade of jade that could make one fall over in disbelief that this normally good mannered boy could look so absolutely threatening.   
  
_ By myself  
I ask why, but in my mind  
I find I can't rely on myself  
  
_ Piccolo smirked, feeling the air cool back down as the two combatants stared at one another. Vegeta unwittingly mirrored his reaction, Yamcha, Bulma and the others were all awestruck. _"It looks like things just went up a notch,"_ Kame thought, closing his eyes and becoming content with following the motion through his other senses. It was bound to be too fast for him to see otherwise.   
  
"You got a bit stronger," Zangya mused aloud while assuming a fighting stance. "Saiyans get stronger with every battle we take damage in," Gohan replied, darting forward. Zangya followed suit and for a time, the two fighters vanished, dozens of explosions of air ringing off all over the ring at a frenzied pace before the two became visible again, with Zangya darting in one direction and Gohan moving in the other. Both jumped backwards and met at the center of the ring, having flipped upside down and now engaging in an ever ascending duel that kicked up dust in a solid ring around them.   
  
Gohan threw a punch, Zangya blocked and sent her leg flying towards him, Gohan caught it, flipped and landed his feet onto the ground before slamming Zangya in with enough force to produce a Zangya-sized crater, which was soon empty.   
  
Zangya halted up in the air while collecting her ki into one hand and flinging it down towards the ring, where it stopped in mid-motion and zinged towards Gohan, who raised up a hand and screamed, a solid blur of air smacking into the incoming attack and detonating it with a wall of smoke, which Gohan promptly flew out of, striking Zangya in the cheek in a movement that was just barely quick enough that Vegeta couldn`t follow it. Zangya reeled and caught Gohan off gaurd, lashing out with her leg and catching him in the side. The blow sent Gohan flying towards the audience, but he stopped himself and threw his hands behind his head, lowering them back down and firing off a bright golden beam of energy.   
  
Zangya darted down, pooling ki into her hand and throwing a blast towards Gohan. It streaked over the crowds and made a wide angling curve before striking the young half-breed in the back, throwing him downwards before he halted his momentum just a few inches from the ground, blurring and reappearing back in the ring in a position that one would more or less associate with an American football player.   
  
A crack of sound later, Gohan`s shoulder was embedded in Zangya`s stomach, while her hands lashed down into his back.   
  
_ I can't hold on  
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin  
It's all too much to take in  
I can't hold on  
To anything watching everything spin  
With thoughts of failure sinking in  
  
"He`s good but not unbeatable, just have to keep him from maxing out and I may stand a chance,"_ Zangya thought, hopping back and smacking Gohan in the forehead with the sole of her boot, causing the boy to reel back and skid to a halt in the center of the ring while she jumped forward and came down, driving her fist into the arena floor and letting off a massive crater that would no doubt remain until the end of the tournament, spreading a good twenty feet in all direction, three feet deep.   
  
Gohan landed quickly and bounded back again, halting at the edge of the ring and falling to a point that he was standing, literally, on the edge, pointed with his back to the ground and his body to the side, much the same way his father had been on the ring against Cell. Zangya darted forward and threw a chopping motion, Gohan flipped over her and touched down, spinning as quickly as he could manage and catching her attempted Flash Slam - the attack used on Piccolo earlier where Zangya smashed into him with numerous after images following suit - with a knee into the stomach. Both hands came crashing down into Zangya`s back, and Gohan let out a yell as he unleashed his power in the form of a point blank ki blast, which threw Zangya forward several yards and scorched the back of her gi shirt.   
  
Gohan and Zangya paused the action, turning to face one another as Zangya let off a groan and checked to see if her hair was on fire or anything while Gohan leaned forward onto his knees and caught his breath.   
  
By now, most of the crowd had begun to make a connection. The rice delivery boy at Cell Games, the one who`d stepped up to bat to face off with Cell himself, the kid with the gold hair dressed like the green man only without the turban. The boy who`d held his own where Mister Satan, and the one who seemed to be the boy`s own father, could not.   
  
"Not winng as easily as you expected?" Zangya asked while catching her own breath. "Never thought this would be that easy," Gohan replied while spitting onto the floor of the ring. "But I _am_ going to win this," he affirmed with a nod. "Just keep telling yourself that," Zangya replied, jumping up and rocketing forward. Gohan threw his hands up and caught her knee, backflipping over her as she flipped over him and touching down with a spin, sweeping his leg out and knocking Zangya from her feet. In a movement that seemed impossible, Zangya halted her fall and hung in mid-air, sideways, while Gohan straightened back into a crouch, now facing her.   
  
"**ZEICHENKETTE KNALL!**" Zangya yelled, throwing a hand forward and watching as numerous glittering strings of energy streaked from her hand and wrapped around Gohan, who flew back expecting a hard impact only to find nothing, not even an energy drain.   
  
And then he found out the real point of the attack, an explosion that threw him straight back and towards the outside. He barely stopped himself from slapping hard into a wall, darting back into the ring and skidding up to Zangya, throwing an uppercut right into her stomach while holding onto her wrist. Zangya almost flew up into the air if not for his grip, and soon found herself kissing the ring again as Gohan slammed her back down, another Zangya-sized crater appearing as a result.   
  
_ If I  
Turn my back I'm defenseless  
And to go blindly seems senseless  
If I hide my pride and let it all go on then they'll  
Take from me till everything is gone  
  
_ Gohan coughed lightly as dust flew up, and then jumped into the air, flying up. He didn`t see as Zangya re-emerged from the crater and screamed, throwing her hands forward and forming a sphere of swirling, darkly gray energy in between each hand, throwing forth an invisible wall of energy, which lashed out and caught Gohan unprepared from behind, wrapping around him and detonating with unbelievable force. The youth fell back out of the cloud of smoke that emerged as a result, landing with a thud on the floor of the ring and coughing up a bit of blood as a result while Zangya stumbled forward, scratching her cheek and shaking her head clear.   
  
She smiled a bit, not many people these days could claim to have laid out Son Gohan, or any of his friends for that matter, but she had succeeded, now standing over him with a bit of a smug expression on her face. "Ready to give up?" She asked the boy, who seemed to be mumbling something.   
  
Ki gathered between her feet and Zangya suddenly caught the last of whatever he was mumbling, and her eyes widened as he paused and opened his eyes with a dangerous smirk, gathering his breath and screaming out as the gigantic pillar of orange light erupted from between her feet, expanding until Zangya vanished within the rarely seen, but increasingly dangerous Masenko.   
  
The beam continued for several seconds, and then there was a dull thud as the beaten Zangya, having lost her second encounter with the Masenko, landed outside the ring, smoking. Her hair had been stained black at several points, singed at the edges as well, and her clothing had been torn up as well, only barely qualifying as actual clothing anymore since one pant-leg was entirely missing, the other extended to the knee, a boot was missing, both wrist bands were gone and her overshirt had vanished. Her skin bore numerous cuts and bruises, and burn marks too, but she took it all in stride, getting to her feet as Gohan got to his and powered down.   
  
"What a match! Son Gohan is the winner!"   
  
Zangya smirked, giving a bow of submission to the facts and waving to him before limping towards the lounge area, intent on finding and having another Senzu bean. Gohan wasn`t far behind, fading from Super Saiya-jin, hair shortening while he stumbled from the ring, waving to the crowd with a victory sign and then making his way into the lounge area after Zangya, falling onto the bench with a chuckle while Zangya just kept a quiet smile, tossing the Senzu that Krillin had given her into her mouth and eating it. Gohan followed suit and took the small bag from his god-father, giving a nod as Krillin tossed him the pouch.   
  
"Good luck, Juu-chan," Zangya said with hidden meaning, catching the light blush that crept over Eighteen`s usually indifferent features whle getting to her feet and walking out of the lounge.   
  
"Don`t worry Krillin, you`ll do great," Gohan said while getting to his feet and patting one of his former mentors on the back. "You`re not the one outgunned sixty or seventy times, are you?" Krillin asked with a frown. Gohan shrugged. "Who knows, maybe you`ll get lucky," he said.   
  
"This should be interesting," Yamcha said hopefully, while Bulma leered over at the sour expression of Vegeta held, not bothering to question him about it while Trunks yawned and finally woke up, leaning forward and holding his arms out at Yamcha. Bulma smirked and handed to boy over to his godfather, looking down at the arena as Eighteen and Krillin exited the lounge.   
  
"And this should be an interesting fight to no ends, as we all know the history of Krillin, Eighteen hasn`t exactly proved to be a weakling in her own right. Will Krillin defeat his Quarter Finals Jinx or will Eighteen take him down and go on to victory?!" The announcer asked.   
  
Eighteen calmly entered the ring with semi-indifference, looking over to the nervous wreck that called itself by the name of Krillin, the same nervous wreck she had to bend over to meet at eye level. The gong was struck, and the crowd watched as nothing happened.   
  
_ How do you think I've lost so much  
I'm so afraid I'm out of touch  
How do you expect I will know what to do  
When all I know is what you tell me to  
  
_ Krillin wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and assumed a fighting position. Eighteen looked somewhat amused by it. "Why aren`t you attacking?" Krillin asked, crouching down a bit. "Would you believe me..." Eighteen began, closing her eyes and biting her cheek. "If I told you I was in love with you?"   
  
It was a safe bet to say that Krillin`s Quarter Final Jinx had been shattered into pieces that day.   
  
_ "HolymotherofKamididshejustsay... **WHAT**?!"_ Krillin thought, easing from the fighting stance with shakey legs and stumbling forward slightly, butterflies in his stomach. "Well?" Eighteen asked, looking off to the crowd, only a small number of which seemed to know what she was speaking of. In specific, a Namek, a Prince, two half-breed saiyans and a warrior from another galaxy, two of whom were scraping their jaws from the floor, the last was almost cheering the pair in the ring on.   
  
"I... You... Me... Love... **_HUH?!_**" Krillin asked, jaw hanging open as Eighteen frowned a bit and spoke, eyes narrowing somewhat. "Wanna get married or not?!" She asked. "Yes!" Krillin replied with a feverish nod. The announcer was the only one who heard it after a few select others, namely in the lounge and in the crowds, but only the announcer was willing to call out about it.   
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems the Legend of Krillin has been born, following the footsteps of his late friend, Krillin has become engaged at the Tenkaichi Budoukai!" The announcer yelled out, bringing a number of shocked cheers from the crowd.   
  
"Good," Eighteen finally stated with an actual smile as Krillin blinked a few times. "Since I didn`t come here to fight anyway, and there isn`t a chance you`ll get by the runt or Zangya, let`s leave, shall we?" Eighteen asked. Krillin gave a sarcastic, albeit knowing look to her and spoke. "Ah hell, why not? Anywhere in mind?" He asked.   
  
"A bridal shop maybe?" Eighteen asked. "Good a place as any," Krillin replied, walking to Eighteen and nervously holding out a hand. Eighteen took it and with a hard gust of wind, both left the arena hand-in-hand.   
  
The announcer gaped in shock.   
  
_ "If it wasn`t for **why** they left, I`d probably be mad,"_ he thought. "Well then, since those two have gone off to go set things up for a wedding, I`m going to have to disqualify them both from the tournament and by Son Gohan right into the finals," the announcer stated. "Congratulations and good luck to both of them and I hope I can make it to the wedding! Moving along," he stated, barely hiding a smile.   
  
"Our next match, due to the forfeits of three competitors, is going to be a semi-finals match, Trunks Mirai will be facing Dabura," the announcer stated, stepping out of the ring as the two competitors walked out of the lounge. The air between them was quietly intense. Neither spoke, but the emotion was still there. Trunks bore the emotion of a man fighting for all he was worth, and then some, a mix of anger, doubt, homicidal urges and fears of making a mistake, the kind of emotions nobody in their right mind would want to fight someone in.   
  
Dabura on the other hand, remained silent and confident, his emotions showing only in the form of a grim smirk as he walked into the ring and turned to face Trunks, who powered up and stood across the ring from him. They were as different as night and day, it seemed, cat eyed, pinkish skinned, horned, black haired Dabura in a strange outfit that barely made any sense at all, against the lavender haired, blue eyed youth in the combat fatigues, army boots, black muscle shirt and Capsule Corporation jacket, a height difference of about a half a head between them. Dabura was the first to break tension filled silence.   
  
"Are you ready to meet the same fate as the one before you?"   
  
Trunks` eyes narrowed. "I`m going to cram those words down your throat," he replied threateningly. Dabura smugly grinned and the combat began.   
  
Two explosions of dust rippled from the floor of the ring, slabs of stone rumbling under the force of two kis erupting into a pair of straight lines. Blurs of blue and mottled gray came closer to one another until impact was made, forearms colliding as the two figures paused, locked in mid-movement. Trunks was weaker by far in his current state, and Dabura was quick to try and press home the advantage because of it, driving into the lock-up and shoving Trunks back, only to have the youth grab him by the wrist and judo toss him over, dropkicking him in the back the moment he touched the ground.   
  
_ "This one may be harder than I thought,"_ Dabura conceded, feeling the sting of pain in his back as he slid forward, only to rocket straight up. Trunks wasn`t far behind, and though Dabura had expected an easy recovery from the kick to the back, he only recieved an elbow into the jaw for his troubles. With a grunt, Dabura halted himself from flying back, pressing his jaw against Trunks` elbow and slowly but surely shoving it back, grabbing onto Trunks` hand and placing his own hand to the youth`s face before yelling out.   
  
Trunks flew to the ground as the kiai yell slammed into him, landing in the ring by luck alone, quickly jumping up to his feet and rolling out of the way of Dabura`s second kiai, which smacked into the ring with enough force to produce a nearly square crater. Another kiai, Trunks dove forward, another and he stopped, flinging himself backwards and a third caused him to spiral to the side before rocketing up in a curved arc, crashing his knee into Dabura`s open hand.   
  
"Prepare to lose," Dabura threaten, easily pushing against the block. Trunks` eyes began to fade from blue and his hair slowly rose up until it had assumed the shape of some kind of spikey, lavender crown, all lines vanishing and only two errant strands dangling over his face. "Don`t bet on it," he replied before the golden aura of a Super Saiya-jin shot up around him, his eyes flaring teal and his hair turned gold at an instant, the force behind his knee suddenly increasing fifty times over and crashing through Dabura`s underestimations, driving the back of his own hand right into his face. Trunks flew forward, gathering ki into one hand and slapping it against Dabura`s stomach, throwing the other straight down and into the ring with a large explosion.   
  
_ "So there are two of them,"_ Dabura thought, getting to his feet. _"This one isn`t quite as powerful as the other but he isn`t to be taken lightly,"_ he thought, darting from the crater and coming to a slow ascent until he was eye level with Trunks. "Is that all the power you can summon up?" He asked mockingly. In response, Trunks` entire body seemed to gain about twice it`s prior bulk, as he had now pushed himself up into the second stage of Super Saiya-jin One, his power and speed both ascending with his size. Dabura raised an eyebrow. _"He`s still not quite as powerful as the other, but he`s even more of a threat now,"_ he thought, raising his hand and letting out a yell.   
  
Force came as the air rumbled and heated, but Trunks didn`t budge an inch, only his aura swayed and his hair shifted under the onslaught. Dabura`s eyes narrowed, Trunks smirked and the contest began anew.   
  
Clashing rapidly, the two battled from their point high above the arena to the ring itself, kicking up a trail of dust in their wake as they approached the edge, until, at the last possible second, Dabura dove up, hawking back and spitting out a gigantic fireball at Trunks, who blurred out of the way and reappeared a few yards from the other, flying forward while flinging his arms in a dozen different directions at once, ending with a diamond-like pattern between thumbs and index fingers, all other fingers splayed out, calling out loudly.   
  
"Burning Attack!"   
  
A flash of golden light and the projectile swiftly flew at Dabura, who growled and threw his hand back over his shoulder, flinging it back out and slicing straight through the attack, which flew to either side of him and detonated harmlessly while a razor thin bolt of energy went flying towards Trunks, who dodged above it and fired again, earning the same results. He fired a third time and struck home, only to have Dabura fly out of the smoke essentially unharmed.   
  
Trunks grunted as the blow smashed into his cheek, drawing back and throwing a similar blow right into Dabura`s stomach before grabbing onto his wrist and spinning around rapidly. Dabura yelled and found himself slammed into the ring floor, getting back up with little actual pain before he felt his cape being grabbed. "Let go of me!" He demanded, yelling out another kiai, this time an area blast, and throwing Trunks off, causing the youth to skid to a halt on his hands and feet in a crouch.   
  
"It appears I have underestimated you," Dabura stated while turning around, catching the visible smirk on Trunks` face. "_No more!_" He yelled, gathering up power as lightning struck up from the ring, gathering up around him in a tornado of green light that settled around him into a red aura. He jumped out of the tornado though, his aura only a glow compared to the flames of a Super Saiyan, and lashed out, faster than Trunks himself could see, but not fast enough to catch him off gaurd.   
  
Dabura growled gutturally as his fist slammed into Trunks` forearms.   
  
_ Don't you know  
I can't tell you how to make it go  
No matter what I do how hard I try  
I can't seem to convince myself why  
I'm stuck on the outside  
  
_ "Have it your way!" Dabura yelled, blurring behind Trunks and grabbing him by the hair. The younger of the pair fought back, forcing himself to a hover in mid-air while Dabura struggled to drag him to the ground. "So be it," Dabura thought, straightening his arm and letting go, ducking back into a crouch and shouting out...   
  
"**_BAKURIKAMAH!!!_**"   
  
It was over. Trunks was caught in the chest by the hard hitting, laser speed beam that lanced out from a ball of energy collected into Dabura`s palm, hurling the other back against his will until he was up in the sky, and then flooding his attack with one last pulse of energy. Dabura stopped the beam and watched, waiting. He lowered his hand down and turned towards the ki signature, smiling as the explosioned sounded out. A shockwave of gold ran through the skies, a gigantic sphere of crimson flames blasting away at it`s epicenter before fading, a single body falling from the heavens.   
  
Vegeta had had enough, without delay, he vanished from his seat and darted over the ring, catching the form of his son and turning back at Dabura with the kind of scowl only a protective father could ever give.   
  
Dabura just grinned. "Test your mettle after the tournament, fool," he ordered, turning to the announcer. "Well?!"   
  
"We have to find out if he`s dead or not..." The announcer mumbled meekly in reply. Dabura turned at Vegeta, who touched down and checked on his son`s pulse. Up in the stands, Bulma had almost lost it and Yamcha, even Old Man Roshi looked infuriated. "He isn`t dead," Vegeta stated with pride. "You aren`t strong enough to kill a Saiyan you pink skinned son of a bitch," the Prince growled out before carrying his son into the lounge and glaring at Gohan, who ran forward.   
  
Vegeta stopped him ahead of time, grabbing the youth by his shirt and lifting him up to eye level. "I don`t give a god damn how much stronger than me you are, **_beat him or so help me, I`ll kill both of you!_**" Gohan nodded and handed Vegeta the Senzus. "He won`t leave the ring without a busted ego, at least... I can gauruntee you that," Gohan promised to Vegeta, who scowled bitterly to the ring while tending his still unconcious son`s wounds, which were many, and severe, severe enough to have left him bloodied, unconcious and faded from Super Saiyan.   
  
"Since... It`s time for the Finals..." The announcer called out shakily, verifying that Trunks was alive, something that brought a sigh of relief.   
  
"It`s the prodigal son of the legendary Son Goku, and the great grandson of former champion Son Gohan Senior, against the fighter who`s mowed down the opposition and been responsible for no less than three forfeits in this tournament alone, Dabura versus Son Gohan!"   
  
Gohan entered the ring, at around the same time that Videl ran into view with a concerned look on her face. Piccolo was stoic, but Videl was awed, she hadn`t expected Gohan to get to the Finals, and she certainly wasn`t prepared to see all of her suspicions confirmed in a blinding flash of golden light.   
  
Super Saiyan Gohan flooded the arena with power, kicking up a small whirlwind of dust and dirt, shaking the tiles and knocking down a few signs, and probably a few people, as he walked into the ring, a battle hardened expression on his face and a take-no-prisoners attitude born out of the kind of rage only a few could truly understand.   
  
"Let the match... **_BEGIN!!!_**"   
  


_End Part Four  
  


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_

**Author`s Note:** Cliffhanger... Evil, isn`t it? And be warned, any expectations you have of the next chapter, get rid of `em now. I didn`t say "All bets are off" for nothin` :P  
  
All I`m sayin` is that you`ll like it... Especially if you like lots of action.  
  
And on a parting note, I hope I didn`t disappoint anyone who was looking forward to Dabura fighting Trunks...  
  
The_ Sh33p_


	5. Papercut Redux

**Author`s Note:** Thanks for the reviews(the few of them I have...), they mean a lot. This will be the last part of Hybrid Theory Redux, but the Hybrid Theory universe itself isn`t ending anytime soon. I already have the sequel in my head, though you`ll probably be a bit surprised just WHERE it might end up...  
  
Hopefully, this chapter`ll have you on the edge of your seat right up to the end, because you probably won`t see it comin`...  
  
**Disclaimer:** I don`t own DBZ.  
  


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**Hybrid Theory Redux   
**_Papercut Redux  
  
_  
  


Videl could hardly believe the things her eyes were telling her. Gohan really _was_ the boy at the Cell Games, it almost made sense but at the same time, none of it meshed together. She knew he was strong, but strong enough to beat Cell? She`d had her suspicions alright, especially when she`d first discovered how strong he was at the Gyoosan Budoukai, but _this?!_ "How..." Videl mumbled, watching the youth continue his slow walk into the ring. The entire arena shook a bit as golden light seemed to pull from the area around the boy, who moved with a threatening pace and a menacing look to everything he did. His posturing was quite literally perfect, his arms set at his sides and his hands balled into tight fists. These weren`t the threatening things about him at the moment though, nor was the corona of gold encircling him in the form of a seven or eight foot tall pillar of fire, slowly dying down to maybe a foot or so above his head.   
  
The truly menacing thing though, was the look on his face. It was a look of angry resolve on his face, and the look of near-murder in his eyes. That was what menaced her, it was also what made her somewhat frightened of the friendly, shy, almost timid youth she`d come to think of as a friend. _"How is this possible?"_   
  
Piccolo remained stoic and grim, looking at the ring but infrequently shooting glances back down into the fighter`s lounge. It was at that moment that Dabura spoke up again.   
  
"Is that all the power your transformation yields?!" Dabura taunted. Gohan gave no response, blurring forward and driving his elbow into the other`s gut. Dabura lurched forward, some purple-white fluid slopping out of his mouth, over Gohan and onto the floor of the ring. He was quick to recover, smacking Gohan across the face with a blow that could level a small building as easily as one would swat a fly. Gohan jerked from the impact, only to swing his leg up into Dabura`s stomach, jumping with that impact and backhanded the larger fighters in the cheek.   
  
Gohan twisted with the flow of his arm, landing on all fours and blurring up and to the right while Dabura faded just as abruptly. In a flurry of movement reminiscent of when Goku fought Cell at the infamous Cell Games, the two fighters blazed all around the ring, arms flying, fists hitting, kicks landing, blocks, parries, a throw here or there and the infrequent energy blast at close range. A lethal show of force by any means, and then the two vanished again.   
  
They reappeared up in the air, Videl only followed by the movement of Piccolo`s eyes, and even he seemed to have a bit of trouble keeping up with them. Zangya was a bit better off than Piccolo, having just arrived in the loser`s-out area of the stands, currently standing next to Videl. She seemed to have a rarely visible look of chargrin on her, hard concentration mixed with semi-exhaustion.   
  
An explosion cracked through the skies, not one of fire, one of air being swept aside in a shockwave that trembled the entire arena. The action halted, Dabura and Gohan hovered there, with Gohan`s fist planted solidly in an angry Dabura`s cheek, the attempt at a punch from Dabura having missed entirely. They hovered like that several seconds before drawing apart, freezing still in mirrored postures of readiness. Dabura wiped his mouth and spat out a bit of that purplish goo onto the ground.   
  
"It seems I have underestimated you," Dabura growled. "You have no idea," Gohan replied, a cut on his forehead opening up almost spontaneously and oozing out a small trickle of blood. "Be proud young mortal, it is rare that anyone ever takes first blood over the Demon King," Dabura exclaimed. "But I have no further time for games," Dabura stated, throwing his hands out to the sides. Green bolts of lightning lanced out from the entire island, converging on a single point, high above the ring: Dabura himself.   
  
His aura-like glow suddenly intensified a hundred fold, Gohan supressed a stagger at how high the other`s power spiked up. It was almost twice his own now and rising, continuing on until it hit what Gohan estimated to be Dabura`s limit. The entire island shock as a green sphere of light erupted from Dabura`s body, flooding out and into the air. Gohan didn`t budge, thankfully the light had no real impact. It was just that - light.   
  
By the time things settled back down, Dabura hovered there, greenish energy cracking about him, a red aura rising all over his body and the cloak he wore. _"Dabura, what`s going on over there?"_ A voice chimed into the Demon King`s mind. _"I`ve met unexpected resistance in the form of a child. His power is nothing compared to mine though, do not worry,"_ Dabura thought back. _"Don`t tell me what to do, Dabura,"_ Babidee sharply answered as the M on Dabura`s forehead glowed red. _"I understand Master. This whelp will be terminated immediately,"_ he thought back as Babidee laughed over their mental connection to him. _"Be sure of it."_  
  
Dabura grinned. He wasn`t playing games anymore, not at all. "Are you ready to die?" Dabura asked. Gohan didn`t say a word in reply. _"Should I do it?"_ He asked himself, weighing the options in his mind. Did Gohan want to risk going to the next level when so many people were around? People that could be potentially injured by it? He reached up and scratched the side of his neck, popping his jaw in thought, thought that was sharply cut off as Dabura appeared in front of him and hammered him in the back of the head. Gohan flew forward only to meet Dabura`s knee right into his stomach. The larger fighter grabbed Gohan by the ankle and flew towards the floor of the ring, slamming Gohan into the tiling with enough force to kick up another sharp impact crater some twenty feet in diameter.   
  
_ "Should I just let him win?"_ Gohan thought as he fought back to his feet, feeling a sharp pain in the back of his head. Dabura grinned and sliced forward with a speed that Gohan barely percieved. He couldn`t see it but he could mentally track it, and that`s just what he had to do. He closed his eyes, throwing his arms up in a block and skidding back a dozen feet, right out of the crater, leaving two trenches from where his feet had dug into the concrete. Dabura slowly left the crater, walking out and towards Gohan with a menacing look.   
  
_ "Do it!"_ Gohan heard a familiar voice shout out in the back of his mind. His eyes narrowed and he let off a sneer as his power suddenly started skyrocketing.   
  
_ Why does it feel like night today?  
Something in here`s not right today  
  
_ Videl looked up, surprised to see storm clouds appearing out of no where up in the skies. She was even more surprised when they began to rapidly spin about, forming a tornado that was wrapped in lightning, a tornado that was only a few feet wide, descending towards the ground. She had to fight to avoid being swept away, as did virtually everyone else in the arena but Piccolo, Zangya, Vegeta and the now - somehow concious and on his feet - Trunks, all of whom seemed to whether it all with ease. A select group in the audience was also managing to whether it, though one of them was having to hold virtually everyone else in place for the time being.   
  
Electricity surged in the ring as the tornado assumed a shade of near-golden, blue cracks of lightning rippling from the ground and pillars of golden light erupting from the sea around the island.   
  
Dabura facefaulted.   
  
_ Why am I so uptight today?  
Paranoia`s all I got left  
I don`t know what stressed me first, or how the pressure was fed  
But I know just what it feels like, to have a voice in the back of my head  
  
"You can do it Gohan, just like you did against Cell!"_ The voice shouted in his mind again. The eye of the tornado suddenly began to expand and the outer winds began to dissipate before it finally blew away entirely, leaving an even more threatening looking Son Gohan standing in the ring, hair streaked up entirely save for a rebellious lock that hung out over his forehead in sheer defiance of the rest. Dabura grimaced at the sight of the aura that flowed around the boy, even more so at the sheer power that radiated off of him in droves, cracks of energy pouring out all around him.   
  
Dabura raised up an arm and covered his eyes as a brilliant flash of golden light filled his vision, ending after a few moments as an angry, utterly menacing youth began to move forward, murder in his eyes, hatred in his stance and brutal swiftness in his movements. Dabura was barely fast enough to dodge the first blow, a punch that passed by him and gouged a hole in the inner wall of the arena from it`s sheer force. Dabura growled from the gut, this fight wasn`t going to be as easy as he thought.   
  
Gohan remained in the pose from his punch, staring blankly ahead before drawing back to a seemingly relaxed stance and leering up at his foe. "Scared?" Gohan asked. "I fear no mortal, brat!" Dabura replied coldly. "You should," Gohan replied, turning towards him.   
  
By now a few members of the crowd had begun to take a bit of a hint, realizing this fight would probably be among the more violent in history, perhaps even more so than what had happened earlier between Killa and Yamu, or even Mister Satan and Dabura, and a select few among them, long time, hardcore Tenkaichi Budoukai goers, knew to leave while they were ahead. The announcer on the other hand looked like a little child with a new toy.   
  
_ "Finally! The match I`ve been waiting for since Son fought Jackie Chun! Or Son fought Tienshinhan! Or since Son fought Piccolo Junior... Wow, lotta classics there,"_ he thought while looking on at the ring. The sky had cleared by now but the sun was beginning to set, slowly but surely. He almost wondered if the battle he was about to see would stretch on into the night. He hoped not, but given the length of Goku`s first match in the finals, and given that this boy who said he was Goku`s son was easily a few dozen times stronger...   
  
_ "... Well, hopefully I`ll at least keep the arena intact this time,"_ he thought.   
  
"What are you waiting for?" Gohan asked. Dabura snarled. "Nothing."   
  
_ It`s like a face that I hold inside  
A face that awakens when I close my eyes  
A face that watches everytime I lie  
A face that laughs everytime I fall  
And watches everything  
  
_ Dabura blurred, Gohan threw his arm up and blocked the venom-filled kick that would have sliced through a building, barely being moved by it as Dabura held there for a moment, making eye contact and then blurring out again. Gohan darted forward and vanished before an explosion sounded off up in the skies, a blue and orange blur of a tornado forming as two figures battled one another back down into the ring with numerous impact shockwaves sounding off from every blocked or successful impact, gushes of air moving faster than sound itself rippling off of the twister-like fight that continued to move downward even as they made contact with the ground, drilling away at the concrete tiles, throwing a few of them up in the process, simply by dodging their feet around.   
  
_ "How is **that** Gohan?!"_ Videl thought. She couldn`t describe the shock running through her mind at the sight - the parts of it she could actually see - of Son Gohan as he was at the Cell Games, the part that couldn`t be broadcasted around the world. It brought a near twitch to her eyelids at the fight taking place before her. Another explosive shockwave sounded off, this one accompanied by a wave of silver shaded light, throwing Videl back against what felt like a soft wall of concrete and literally knocking the wind out of her. She looked up and back to see Piccolo standing there, unphased by her but a look of outright amazement and pride etched onto his face.   
  
She looked to the side to see Zangya with more or less the same expression, minus the obvious bit of pride, and then looked to her other side to see the crowds slowly starting to thin. Good, people were getting out of the way. That was a very good thing, the way this was shaping up she honestly doubted the likelehood of the arena`s survival.   
  
Up in the stands, a small group began to fight with one another. "Trunks is **not** ready for this kind of flight Yamcha!" Bulma contested hotly as her former boyfriend, now best friend, nonchalantly grabbed her under the back of the legs, and around the shoulders, scooping her from her feet and then waited for Puar and Oolong to finish climbing on his shoulders. "We`ll worry about any real damage after the fact Bulma. Are you sure you`ll be alright, Kame?" Yamcha asked, looking over at Roshi. "I`ll be fine, takes more`n a bit o` wind to take down the Turtle Hermit, yanno," Roshi replied while getting to his feet. "Real shame though, was actually looking forward to keepin` this shell a few more decades," the old man mumbled.   
  
Yamcha didn`t hear him, and in a few seconds, the main portion of the group was airborn, lifting up over the wall of the arena as the old Master tracked them with his senses, looking on at the turtle that had been his pet for close to a hundred and thirty years by now. "Why didn`t you go with `em, Umi?" Roshi asked as he got to his feet using his staff, setting the shell down at his side and his staff in front of the turtle. Umi Gama frowned. "I don`t trust you to be left alone," he replied finally while grabbing the staff and closing his eyes. "Well, may as well give these people an easier exit, eh?" Roshi asked, looking for, and spotting, a major empty spot in the crowd. It would require a slight jump to pull it off, but he could manage.   
  
"Ka..."   
  
"You`re really gonna do it?"   
  
"Shut up, ya broke my concentration..." Kame chastised his pet, who rolled his eyes in reply. Roshi drew his hands in front of himself, then to his side again as a blue glow formed over his skin. "Ka..."   
  
_ It`s like I`m paranoid  
Lookin` over my back  
It`s like a whirlwind inside of my head  
It`s like I can`t stop what I`m hearin` within  
  
_ Gohan froze, feeling energy build up outside of the ring but quickly deciding to ignore it. The match with Dabura took precidence now, and he let himself flow into it like water, much the same way his father had often fought during their training. Gohan`s skill seemed to raise with that one realization, he flowed into every movement he made in the fighting afterward. Dabura jumped back, avoiding a flurry of swift, earth shattering kicks and touching down with a pair of dual taps, the tiles trembling fearfully under his boots.   
  
_ "Keep fighting Gohan, you can overcome him! Just don`t give up!"_ The familiar voice shouted. Gohan drew encouragement from it, ducking down and drawing his arm back, avoiding Dabura`s kiai and darting forward. The gigantic Demon King keeled forward as the elbow struck him in the gut and Gohan spun behind him, skidding to a halt and cupping his hands together before letting out a shout. A large ki ball blazed out of his palms, rushing forward towards the crowd only to dart straight up and execute a graceful arch and shoot back down, crashing into the back of Dabura`s head and exploding hard enough to throw him to his knees.   
  
Dabura growled sharply and got to his feet. "Foolish little brat," he snarled, about to say something else until he looked back to see a bald, festively dressed old man with a long white beard that flowed down to his chest, hands shooting forward as he screamed.   
  
"... _**HA!!!**_"   
  
The resulting beam, Dabura could tell, was weaker than anything he himself would ever throw, but it did the job the old man wanted, striking into an empty part of the stands and blasting an easy escape route, as well as ensuring most of the crowd got scared enough to actually leave, before the old man himself backflipped and came back to the ground, a turtle waddling up next to him and giving him his staff.   
  
Dabura was amused more than annoyed, the announcer looked half mortified and Gohan remained stonily dedicated as roughly 75% of the remaining crowd fled through the quick exit Roshi`s blast had created.   
  
"Crowd control never was my specialty," Roshi muttered while grabbing Umi Gama up onto his back and crouching down before backflipping out of the arena all together, Umi Gama going with him. The only trace that Old Man Roshi, better known at the Budoukais as Jackie Chun, was ever even present to begin with was an oversized, 220 pound purple turtle shell with a pair of leather straps on it, held in place with wooden screws, laying plainly on a chair.   
  
_ "How can an old guy do **that**?!"_ Videl asked herself, the twitch in her eyelids becoming a bit more defined.   
  
Outside, Master Roshi set Umi down and glanced over at the group that was now eying him annoyedly. Yamcha had just set Bulma down and was now holding Trunks while Puar perched on his shoulder and Oolong crouched down behind Bulma, looking as if he was either trying to glare at Roshi or gaze upon the promised land concealed by Bulma`s skirt. "What?" Roshi asked with a shrug. "Had to make sure those two don`t kill half the people in there by accident and I made sure not to kill anyone myself."   
  
_ It`s like the face inside is right beneath my skin  
_  
Gohan fought down the smug arrogance that boiled beneath him, begging to be unleashed so that he could torture Dabura like he had Cell, but the rest of him was so focused on the fighting at hand that he almost didn`t notice either way that he had begun to coldly smirk. _"Don`t give in to the inner self Gohan, you have to fight him! Keep your ego **out of it**,"_ the voice sharply chastised him. Gohan looked over his shoulder finally, the smirk gone as Dabura glared at him.   
  
"Ready to continue or do you need a break?" Gohan asked, earning a sharp retort. "I need no rest, I need only your blood!"   
  
The violence resumed, Dabura darted forward, Gohan spun around and backhanded him in the side, Dabura replied swiftly, and for the first time since Cell, Gohan felt real, honest-to-Dende pain running through his body in his second form of Super Saiyan, biting back against the numerous curses that threatened to spill out as Dabura`s hand embedded itself in his stomach. Gohan grit his teeth and glared into Dabura`s eyes, spotting a cruel grin there as the other drew back and lashed out again, only to have his foe duck the attack and ram his elbow and forearm into Dabura`s throat. The other staggered back, then flew up as Gohan ran into him and backflipped up, kicking Dabura in the jaw as a result. Gohan threw his hands forward while arriving at a total stop, throwing forth a heavenly blue bolt of energy that caught Dabura in the stomach, then darting forward again, jumping up and smashing Dabura across the face with a balled up fist.   
  
Dabura crashed into the concrete of the ring and skidded back until his head hung over the ground outside the ring, coughing somewhat until he leaned up. Gohan let out a feral cry and rushed forward, crouching in mid-run and skidding the rest of the way at Dabura with his hands out, a luminous golden glow present in them as he shot forward one ki blast after another. Dabura sat up straight and swatted each incoming attack away before blurring straight up at the last second. Gohan continued forward, eyes going wide and then, he felt the kick slamming into the back of his neck.   
  
Gohan landed squarely outside of the ring with cratering force as his chin smashed into the ground. "Son Gohan has lost the match!"   
  
Vegeta twitched. _"Come on damn it,"_ he thought annoyedly.   
  
Gohan got back to his feet and leered over to the announcer, who then noticed that Dabura had materialized on the ground at effectively the same time as Gohan had hit. "I take that back! The match continues until one of these two loses, get back in the ring or we end the tournament with a double disqualification!"   
  
Gohan grimaced and got to his feet, rolling into the ring and sitting there on his hands and knees as Dabura jumped backwards into the ring and screamed, kiai precursing an enormous fireball which was avoided as Gohan darted straight up, altering his course on a sharp vector and throwing a ball of ki at Dabura, who punched the attack and flew right through the resulting explosion. Gohan grabbed him by the arm and flew back into the ring, slamming Dabura into the ground before ripping him back up and doing it again to the opposite side. Dabura cried out as he felt Gohan slam him again and jump onto his back, using his ki to force himself down with enough force to produce a two foot deep Dabura-sized crater.   
  
Gohan blurred away and broke into a hover up in the air.   
  
Dabura climbed out a few seconds later, wiping his face off and growling.   
  
_ I know I`ve got a face in me  
Points out all my mistakes to me  
You`ve got a face on the inside too and your paranoia`s probably worse  
I don`t know what set me off first, but I know what I can`t stand  
Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is  
I can`t add up to what you can  
  
_ From the sidelines, Vegeta was beginning to feel more and more miniscule compared to the happenings in the ring. Trunks looked surprised that the two inside were even managing to fight given how violent things seemed to be, but he withheld the usual gasps everyone might have had. Vegeta grimaced as an errant ki blast darted by his head and struck somewhere deep in the building, causing a large explosion that was sure to have leveled at least a square block of the ten or eleven square block wide building.   
  
Debris flew by, Vegeta was sure at least a bit of searing blood went with it, but he didn`t bother to look back, and neither did Trunks. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, looking equally resolute as the confrontation continued.   
  
Dabura dodged up, Gohan followed suit, they ended back to back until both flipped and turned upside down in mid-air, darting forward and lashing out at one another repeatedly. Several spurts of blood flew loose from the impacts, but neither fighter slowed down, battling towards the ring again and touching down with a twin jump as Dabura cupped both hands together and shouted. "Bakurikamah!" Dabura called, a large golden sphere appearing in his hands and rushing into the form of a thin, twin beam of goldish energies, which lashed out at Gohan.   
  
Gohan replied in kind. "Masenko-ha!"   
  
The two beams collided in a mid-air duel that lasted several seconds before Dabura darted down, allowing his beam to be overcome by the force of the Masenko, which Gohan guided up before it could hit part of the arena. Dabura shot forward only to find Gohan meeting him halfway, a knee slamming into his mouth and a fist meeting his eye a second later. Dabura flew back and into the ground, a black eye and a few teeth missing, which promptly regenerated a few seconds later as he got to his feet, staggering somewhat.   
  
Gohan touched down and uppercut him right in the jaw, Dabura grabbed him and jumped back, slamming Gohan out of the ring and into the ground. He expectantly looked over at the announcer, who pointed out bluntly.   
  
"You`re on the ground too... So..."   
  
Dabura slapped himself on the side of the head and grabbed Gohan`s hair, dragging the youth back into the ring and pulling back only to reel as Gohan snapped his arm up, catching Dabura off gaurd right in the forehead. Dabura fell back as Gohan got to his knees, hands at his sides before he gathered power and threw them forward, unleashing a bolt of energy right into Dabura`s chest, eliciting a loud shriek from the Demon King, who lay on his back with smoke rising off of him. Gohan promptly fell to his side, and out of the Ascended Super Saiyan form and into regular Super Saiyan, his hair falling to it`s usual length and form in that level. "My head hurts," Gohan complained.   
  
Dabura chuckled out before sighing and passing out.   
  
"One!" The announcer began.   
  
_ But everybody has a face that they hold inside   
  
_ "Two!" He continued. Gohan felt lightheaded and he could barely even focus his vision, finding it difficult to breathe. Fading from Super Saiyan helped matters only slightly, and his hair faded black and fell to it`s usual disorderly style.   
  
_ A face that awakes when they close their eyes   
  
_ He let his eyes fall shut at the count of three.   
  
_ A face watches everytime they lie   
  
"I need some sleep,"_ he thought lazily, rolling onto his back and hearing Dabura cough out, waking up and laughing still from exhaustion and stress. "Four!"   
  
_ A face that laughs every time they fall   
  
_ Yep, sleep was starting to sound like a good prospect for Son Gohan at the moment. "Five!"   
  
_ And watches everything   
  
_ Goku looked somewhat mortified and the Grand Kaio was suitably taken aback at the events of the fight. It had been such a quick moving battle that he could only barely follow the movements of the fighters involved, seeing them more as blurs than actual figures.   
  
"Six!"   
  
_ So you know that when it`s time to sink or swim   
  
"Get up!"_ "Seven!"   
  
_ That the face is watching you too   
  
_ "Eight!" Gohan opened his eyes and sat up as best he could, struggling to his hands and knees.   
  
_ Right inside your skin   
  
"I can do this,"_ Gohan thought, planting one foot into the ring. "Nine!"   
  
_ The sun goes down  
I feel the light betray me  
_  
"Ten!" The announcer called out as Gohan got his other foot situated and made it to his feet. He looked expectantly over at the announcer, even as the remaining members of the crowd, numbering about a hundred or two hundred people, two hundred and thirty tops, seemed to inch forward in their seats.   
  
"Both fighters are disqualified! The tournament has ended without a definate victor in the final round!"   
  
Gohan fell back over, cussing out profanity in three languages(English, Japanese and Namekian), as well as a few of the more colorful words he`d learned from Vegeta in the past few years. Dabura burst into maddened laughter as well, he had one thing in life he despised even worse than the one time he had ever lost a battle, and that was the suffering of indecisiveness that came with a draw, an inconclusion, especially to a climactic battle like this. A rare stream of tears escaped him as he rolled onto his side and glared over at the announcer, only to look back over to Gohan with nothing but absolute anger on his face.   
  
The other let out a loud screaming of some profanity that actually made Vegeta blink, then slammed both fists into the ring and calmed down, wobbling up to his feet and glaring over at Dabura.   
  
Dabura glared back, getting to his feet and lifting from the ground. "We`ll finish this another day, brat. What`s your name?" He demanded. "Son Gohan, anytime, anywhere," the other replied in kind, looking almost like he was ready to resume the battle right off the bat. "Good. We`ll continue this some day," Dabura vowed, shooting off into the sky with a shockwave of air.   
  
Gohan stood still, glaring at the vapor trail the other left with obvious contempt. "Count on it," he muttered before looking over to the announcer. "What does that qualify me as?" Gohan asked, head tilted to the side. The announcer straightened up. "It means you get half the full money you would`ve won if you made first, and it means that second prize will also be divided in half and half of it given to you," the announcer stated. "But Dabura left..."   
  
"True, but we`re gonna need _something_ to rebuild the arena today..." The announcer grumbled out, walking into the ring and patting Gohan on the back. "You did good today, Gohan, that`s the best match I`ve ever seen! Hope to see you at the next tournament, check`s in the mail," the announcer stated, having kept the Ox King`s address all these years and sent tournament prize money to the Son family through him. Part of the privacy deal he had worked out with the group over the phone at Goku`s last Tenkaichi appearance.   
  
_ "Wow,"_ the announcer thought, looking around the arena. _"Those two almost did as big a number as Piccolo and Goku did when they fought... Well, the arena was smaller back then..."_ He looked into the smoldering crater-filled ring and then the blasted out stands, and the ruined secondary building of the arena. _"... So much for almost..."   
  
_ Videl finally snapped out of it as Gohan walked towards what was left of the fighters` lounge, spotting one of the other two there seeming to go ballistic and giving off a light chuckle before realizing her father had been in the building when it had been blasted...   
  
"Oh Kami..." She mumbled as Piccolo rested a hand on her shoulder and motioned towards the figure stumbling towards their part of the stands on crutches with a noticable difference in his appearance, not one of physical difference either. "Daddy!" Videl cried out, breaking away from Piccolo and Zangya and running towards her father.   
  
"... A warrior like Dabura should be dead!" Vegeta yelled out. Gohan remained calm and impassive. "If you hadn`t been so fucking weak the-" Gohan finally cut him off, forcibly yanking the Prince to eye level by his ear. "Could you have beaten him, Vegeta?" Gohan asked, letting go and regaining control of himself. He muttered out a sheepish apology and took the Senzu offered to him by the elder version of Trunks before storming by a fuming Vegeta. "I cheered for him telepathically for _that_?" Vegeta growled. "Give him some credit, I doubt any of us would`ve lasted against Dabura. I would`ve had to go past my maximum just to give him a challenge."   
  
"Shut up," Vegeta grumbled, storming out after Gohan.   
  
"Guess it`s time for me to head home," Trunks thought aloud, tucking his hands in his pockets and jumping up before taking to the air and spotting Yamcha, his mother and the others. _"Yeah, guess so,"_ he thought with passive amusement at his younger self`s incessant habit of sleeping.   
  


**_ End Hybrid Theory Redux  
  


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**

Author`s Note: And so ends Hybrid Theory Redux. Sooner or later, I`ll have the next installment of the Hybrid Theory universe out, when that is, I don`t know. As for WHERE it is... It could very well be the part of the HT universe that crosses over into Sailor Moon, I don`t know yet. See ya when I see ya! *Waves*  
  
**AND LEAVE A REVIEW DAMNIT!**  
  
*coughcough* n.n;  
  
The _Sh33p_


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